Tag: Business

• New data shows Gen Z lags older generations in their comfort level with saying they're not drinking.
• Younger adults drink less than previous generations, but their rates of consumption are increasing.
• Their split approach to drinking is forcing bars to rethink their strategies and menu offerings.

Gen Z drinks less than the generations before them, but the awkwardness they feel talking about alcohol is starting to transform where they go out, what they order, and how bars are built for them.

Younger consumers say they feel more awkward than older consumers when explaining why they aren't drinking, new research from Heineken shows. While an increasing percentage of Americans feel comfortable declining an alcoholic drink with a simple "no thanks" (72%) or opting for a non-alcoholic alternative at parties (86%), only about half of Americans under 35 are comfortable drinking low or no-alcohol drinks in public.

They're also more likely to expect someone will question them, and more likely to feel they need an excuse for not drinking — a paradox, given that Gen Z drinks less overall.

As younger adults pull back from drinking while still worrying about how to justify it, nightlife operators are rebuilding their menus, spaces, and social experiences around a generation that wants to go out without having to explain what's in their glass.

Laura Fenton, a research associate at the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population Health who studies youth drinking behavior, said the tension around talking about drinking likely stems from social expectations. Even for Gen Z consumers, she said, "drinking together can be really important to friendship and to negotiating kind of a sense of belonging."

A Danish study she cited found that young people feel like they have to give a good reason when they don't drink or when they turn down alcohol with their friends, because "drinking is kind of a demonstration of reciprocity."

"So if you're going to not be on the same level, you have to have a good reason," Fenton said.

Gen Z's approach to alcohol is also shaped by a notable anxiety about health concerns and other risks associated with drinking, as well as an aversion to the high costs. With cocktails priced at $15 or more in most cities, many young adults opt for soda, coffee, or mocktails, perceiving them as offering better value than booze.

"They're just a much more conscious consumer," Marten Lodewijks, president of the beverage market data firm, IWSR, told Business Insider. "It's not that they just don't want to drink. They enjoy it, and they enjoy it as much as other generations. It's just that they're conscious that it's not good for them, and so they don't do it as frequently."

Bars are revamping their strategies as Gen Z makes alcohol optional

Operators say the shift isn't theoretical; they're seeing it in real time.

Michelin-starred chef David Chang said in a November interview with TBPN talk-show hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays that the decline in Gen Z's drinking is a "real existential threat" to restaurants if they don't pivot, given the industry's already thin margins.

Sober bars are cropping up across major metropolitan areas — and one operator told Business Insider in January that every bar will have to expand its non-alcoholic offerings to stay competitive.

That change is already taking place: mocktails now appear on menus not as afterthoughts but as full-fledged offerings that look, feel, and cost like traditional cocktails, Stacy Molnar, a designer who has worked on restaurant and bar concepts for more than 30 years, told Business Insider.

"At the end of the day, it's about revenue per seat," said Molnar. "If someone wants to order a $15 mocktail instead of a $15 cocktail, great — it makes them feel included, and the operator still hits their numbers."

Heineken USA's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Anne de Graaf, told Business Insider that "Zebra Striping," which is when people choose to alternate between alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, is also on the rise.

But it's not just the drink list that's changing; it's the overall bar experience.

Younger consumers want something to gather around when they go out, such as board games, trivia nights, themed environments, Instagrammable bathrooms, striking focal points, and distinctive décor.

In other words, Molnar said, they want atmosphere.

"They're not going to a bar just to sit," Molnar, who has two Gen Z kids of his own, said. "They want an activity. They want a vibe."

From all-pink cafés trending on TikTok to bars built around entertainment, the industry is shifting away from alcohol as the main draw. Instead, it's centering aesthetic experiences that make socializing feel low-stakes — and alcohol optional.

"This isn't just about alcohol," Fenton, the youth-drinking researcher, said. "It's about what young adults want from social life. If you think about it, for young adults, drinking is a social behavior, and it's largely geared toward forming and maintaining social bonds."

Bars that succeed with younger customers aren't just offering alcohol-free options; they're de-emphasizing alcohol altogether. They're transforming into multi-experience spaces where friends can hang out without feeling judged, pressured, or out of sync with the group, Molnar said.

So, what comes next? Expect to see more bars that are less about booze and more about belonging — and more spaces where saying "I'm not drinking tonight" doesn't require a speech.

• Ukraine said that one of its interceptor drones just reached 400 kmph, making it faster than F1 cars.
• Mykhailo Fedorov said the speed was achieved with a motor, meaning it uses propellers to fly.
• Kyiv has been pushing its interceptors to go faster as Russia develops more advanced Shahed drones.

A small Ukrainian drone built to chase down and intercept other aerial systems has recently achieved a speed of 400 kmph, or 248.5 mph, Kyiv's digital transformation minister said on Tuesday.

"400 km/h — that's the speed reached by an interceptor drone powered by a motor from Motor-G, a member of Brave1UA," Mykhailo Fedorov wrote in a social media post. Brave1 is Ukraine's defense innovation platform.

Such a velocity means that the interceptor can beat the official speed record for Formula 1 racing, achieved by Valtteri Bottas in 2016 at 231.46 mph.

A speed of 248.5 mph also allows the drone to nearly match the fastest high-speed trains in the world. The Shanghai Maglev, for example, reached speeds of 280 mph during tests in October, but is commercially operated at 186 mph.

And a motor-powered interceptor would be doing so with propellers, rather than the jet engines or high-thrust combustion systems that propel other vehicles to extreme speeds. Because interceptor drones are designed to destroy other drones at a low cost, Ukraine's manufacturers typically price them below $6,000 each.

It's another sign of how quickly the war is transforming the local weapons industry, which has turned hobbyist drones into some of the fastest yet cheapest aircraft on the battlefield. Four months ago, another Ukrainian interceptor drew widespread attention for reaching 195 mph in flight.

Ukraine is now ramping up ambitions to export such war technology, saying that its locally built missiles, drones, and anti-air systems have been tried and tested against Russia.

A video posted by Fedorov on Tuesday said that producing drone motors in Ukraine "seemed impossible" just two years ago, but that Motor-G is now making 100,000 motors a month.

"Today, more and more drones are flying on motors made in Ukraine," the minister wrote.

Kyiv has been particularly focused on increasing the speed of its interceptors because Russia has been developing its own versions of the Iranian Shahed, which are long-range attack drones.

The most commonly used models of these loitering munitions fly at roughly 115 to 180 mph, and are often released in large numbers to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. The Russian tactic created the urgent need for Ukraine to develop cheap ways to destroy the Shaheds, which led to the rise of interceptor drones.

However, Moscow has been repeatedly reported to be experimenting with smaller waves of new jet-powered Shaheds, which are believed to reach speeds of 230 mph.

Their emergence at the start of the year initially sparked fears in Ukraine that they would be too fast for interceptors to catch, though recent reports and war footage indicate that Ukrainian manufacturers have managed to close the gap.

One jet-powered Shahed, for example, was filmed being approached by a Ukrainian interceptor from behind in late November.

• Sanctions have forced Russia to lean heavily on China to keep its economy afloat.
• China ships high-tech goods to Russia and buys its oil cheap — a combo that boosts Beijing's leverage.
• Russia's role has shrunk to junior partner as China gains economic influence.

Moscow's wartime pivot to Beijing has helped keep Russia's economy afloat under the weight of sweeping Western sanctions — but at a cost.

What looks like a lifeline today may lock Moscow into a long-term role as Beijing's junior economic partner. Russia is now heavily dependent on China for key manufactured goods and advanced inputs blocked by Western sanctions, according to a report from the Atlantic Council, a think tank, published on Friday.

"Economically and politically, Russia's relationship with China is simultaneously deeply asymmetrical and mutually beneficial," wrote Elina Ribakova, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Lucas Risinger, an economic analyst and nonresident research fellow at the Kyiv School of Economics Institute.

China buys up Russian oil at volumes that offset lost European customers — at a discount — while Russia buys machinery, vehicles, and electronics from the East Asian giant amid Western boycotts and sanctions.

"This is a complete and embarrassing reversal in the relationship compared to the 2000s, when Russia exported higher value-added goods to China," wrote the analysts.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has steered the country's economy into a wartime footing. Heavy defense and government spending help sustain topline resilience, despite sanctions and export restrictions.

But cracks are emerging as energy export revenues have fallen sharply in a low oil-price environment. Consumer demand has also weakened amid still high inflation.

Russia needs China far more than China needs Russia

China now accounts for a large share of Russia's imports, and the vast majority of its trade with China is settled in the Chinese yuan.

Russia became China's top crude oil supplier in 2023, but the country accounts for just one-fifth of China's imports of the commodity. Meanwhile, oil and gas revenues account for a substantial one-third of Russia's budget inflows.

To be sure, China needs global buyers for its massive manufacturing sector, and Russia has become one of them. Still, the gains are "far more important to Russia than to China," since Beijing doesn't rely on Moscow the way Europe relied on Russian energy, wrote the analysts.

Furthermore, "from an economic point of view, China is not a better trading partner for Russia than the European Union was. It buys oil and gas at lower prices, it invests far less in Russia, and its products are often technologically inferior," they added.

This skewed relationship gives Beijing substantial leverage in negotiations and transactions. China purchases Russian oil at steep discounts, knowing Moscow's alternatives are limited.

"While Moscow has not become Beijing's vassal — at least not to the extent that it would attack NATO purely to distract the Alliance from a war for Taiwan — Russia is certainly the junior partner in the 'no limits' partnership," the analysts wrote.

• Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says some early AI startups are raising big money.
• But these startups "haven't even got going yet," he said, adding that an over-correction is likely.
• His comments come amid growing scrutiny of soaring AI startup valuations.

Demis Hassabis has a blunt message for parts of the AI startup world: Some of this looks unsustainable.

The DeepMind cofounder and CEO said in an episode of "Google DeepMind: The Podcast" published Tuesday that there are likely "bubbles" forming in today's AI funding frenzy, particularly among early-stage startups raising money at huge valuations.

Some startups "basically haven't even got going yet," he said, yet are raising at "tens of billions of dollars valuations just out of the gate."

"It's sort of interesting to see how can that be sustainable. You know, my guess is probably not, at least not in general," he added.

Hassabis drew a distinction between those sky-high seed rounds and the large tech companies pouring billions into AI infrastructure. There's "a lot of real business" underpinning Big Tech's valuations, he said.

AI is "overhyped in the short term" but "still underappreciated in the medium to long-term," he added.

Hassabis said an "over-correction" is imminent for any major technology shift like AI, especially when it goes from skepticism to obsession quickly.

"When we started DeepMind, no one believed in it," he said. "Fast forward 10, 15 years, and now, obviously, it seems to be the only thing people talk about in business."

That kind of swing often pushes valuations too far and too fast. "It's almost an overreaction to the underreaction," he said.

Hassabis also said he isn't worried about whether AI is in a bubble — he's focused on his job. Google DeepMind builds the AI models that power Google's products, including Gemini, and leads the company's frontier AI research.

Sky-high valuations for AI startups

Hassabis' comments come as AI startups continue to rake in soaring valuations.

Business Insider reported last week that young founders — some of whom are fresh out of school — are raising millions for their AI startups. Many have dropped out to ride the AI wave, pulling in top investors and talent.

A Stanford graduate dropout raised $64 million for her AI math startup earlier this year. Carina Hong, the founder of Axiom Math, even recruited top AI talent from Meta and Google Brain.

The 16 young founders Business Insider spoke with this year have secured over $100 million in funding.

But not everyone is buying the hype. Howard Marks, the cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, said on an episode of "We Study Billionaires" podcast published last week that investors are flocking to AI startups with little track record.

"Do you want to have a novel entrepreneurial startup pure play which has no revenues and no profits today, but could be a moonshot if it works?" the billionaire asked.

"Or do you want to invest in a great tech company, which is already existing and making a lot of money where AI could be incremental but not life-changing? It's a choice."

• Cate Blanchett, 56, says she loves a good icy plunge in the morning to "jolt" her awake.
• The actor also swears by Tai Chi and facial massages to give her a youthful glow.
• "If your skin is in good shape, there's no need for a lot of cover-up," she said.

Cate Blanchett, 56, says she doesn't skip her go-to wellness routine, even when traveling.

"It's so popular it's almost a cliché, but I do get into cold water every morning. It's a real leveler and brings me into the day with a fabulous jolt," Blanchett told Byrdie in an interview published on Tuesday.

To keep her complexion looking its best, Blanchett turns to a few trusted practices.

"Lymphatic drainage, lymphatic drainage, lymphatic drainage. I love a good facial massage. It's simultaneously relaxing and invigorating. A few minutes of Tai Chi. It wakes everything up," she said.

Blanchett says the glow is enough to skip heavy makeup altogether.

"If your skin is in good shape, there's no need for a lot of cover-up. So for me, just mascara. And a fabulous lipstick," she said.

This isn't the first time that the actor has spoken about her love for her icy morning routine.

"The only thing keeping me remotely sane at the moment is getting into cold water every day," Blanchett told The Guardian in a March interview. "I get up and get in. Five minutes, and it just brings everything back down. Because you have to connect with where you are."

Cold plunges, also known as ice baths, have become a popular wellness trend. Once the domain of wealthy celebrities and athletes, it has gone mainstream, fueled by the growing obsession with longevity.

Research is mixed. Some studies show ice baths can ease muscle soreness after an intense workout, while others suggest they might interfere with long-term muscle growth.

Still, it remains a staple in the routines of many athletes, including Stephen Curry, who told Business Insider in March that "getting in cold tubs" is a key part of his recovery routine.

"If I skip one of those, I feel it, and it doesn't give me the maximum recovery that I need, especially at this stage," Curry said.

If a cold plunge isn't an option, a cold shower might do the trick.

NBA All-Star Kevin Love told Business Insider in April that he takes a cold shower for one to five minutes after waking up.

"When I need to really wake up and get that, boom, dopamine hit and be firing, I'll do that," Love said. "My mind is working at a very high level as well as my body being just refreshed."

• Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is stepping away from Paramount's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
• The private equity firm was previously part of the financing group for the $108 billion bid.
• It's the latest development in the media war among Paramount Skydance, Netflix, and WBD.

Jared Kushner is walking away from Paramount's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Affinity Partners, a Florida-based private equity firm founded by President Donald Trump's son-in-law, will not participate in financing Paramount's $108 billion bid for WBD, a person close to the matter told Business Insider. The person said Affinity was expected to invest $200 million, a relatively small amount of the total bid.

In a statement to various news outlets, an Affinity spokesperson confirmed the end of the firm's participation.

"The dynamics of the investment have changed significantly since we initially became involved in October. We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount's offer," the spokesperson said.

Affinity did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Affinity and Jared Kushner were identified as a financing partner in Paramount's 367-page SEC filing on December 8, in which it made the bid for WBD. Its other external financing partners include wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

Kushner's father-in-law's presence looms large in the deal. President Donald Trump, who said he would be involved, has long-standing ties to David Ellison's father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, who is backing the Paramount bid.

While Trump publicly praised Netflix and its co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, the president also said that a combo of Netflix and WBD "could be a problem" due to the size.

Kushner's exit is the latest development in the media war among Paramount Skydance, Netflix, and WBD.

On December 5, Netflix announced that it would acquire WBD for an equity value of $72 billion. The streaming giant edged out other bidders, like Paramount and Comcast.

Days later, Paramount launched a hostile bid of $30 per share for all of WBD, with CEO David Ellison urging WBD's shareholders to tender their shares and switch teams from Netflix to Paramount.

He wrote a letter to the shareholders on December 10, criticizing WBD's advisors for not giving Paramount's offer the same treatment as Netflix's. He described the sales process as "opaque."

Paramount's stock price is down more than 5% over the past five days but up 32% since the start of the year. WBD's stock price is up about 170% since the start of the year.

Tesla has 90 days to amend its advertising language or face a 30-day suspension from selling in California, Steve Gordon, the Director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, said in a media briefing on Tuesday.

On November 21, Administrative Judge Juliet E. Cox made a proposed decision about whether Tesla has misled consumers into thinking its cars are more capable of driving themselves than they actually are, and transmitted it to the DMV for consideration. The document containing the proposal, however, has been withheld from the public and won't be released till December 22.

Gordon said during the Tuesday briefing that Cox recommended both a suspension of Tesla's license to sell and to manufacture in California. The DMV, however, decided not to pursue a suspension of the license to manufacture, and put a temporary 90-day stay on the suspension of the license to sell for Tesla to make amends.

The notice to Tesla follows a weeklong hearing in July at the administrative court in Oakland. In 2022, the DMV sued Tesla, accusing the car maker of misleading consumers through Tesla's advertisements and by naming its driver assistance technologies "Full Self-Driving" and "Autopilot."

Tesla's lawyers denied that the company had ever tried to conceal the fact that its vehicles cannot fully drive themselves.

The DMV sought to suspend Tesla's ability to sell cars in the state for at least 30 days and award consumers monetary damages.

The CA DMV wrote in its complaint that on multiple occasions in 2021 and 2022, Tesla's website advertised its FSD driver assistance system as being "designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver's seat."

Tesla's lawyers said during the hearing that the company has always informed buyers that they "cannot fully rely" on FSD or Autopilot.

"Cars with Full Self-Driving capabilities are currently not capable of driving themselves," said Attorney Matthew Benedetto, a member of Tesla's legal team, during the hearing.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story; please check back for more.

Nick Reiner is set to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of his parents, director Rick Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The couple was found dead at their home in Los Angeles on Sunday.

This story is breaking. Check back for updates.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the final national employment report for the year.
• Economists think the job market is stagnant.
• Unemployment was above 4.5%, wage growth has moderated, and job growth remains unequal among industries.

This week brought a vanishingly rare jobs report on Tuesday after the longest government shutdown in history threw a wrench in federal data collection, and it was a mixed bag.

The new data emphasized trends we've been seeing this year, including unemployment inching up and a tougher market for many job seekers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the report from December 5 to extend data collection and processing after its activities were affected by the government shutdown that lasted from October to about mid-November.

The new data allowed economists, job seekers, reporters, and more to understand how job growth looked in both October and November; the BLS didn't produce an October jobs report last month. While the report was missing items like the October unemployment rate, it gives us a fresh look at the labor market.

Here are four takeaways from the latest jobs report.

The job market is still frozen

Both Nicole Bachaud, a labor Economist at ZipRecruiter, and Laura Ullrich, the director of economic research in North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, described the job market as still stagnant.

The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November, surpassing the 50,000 expected. That comes after a big net loss in October, largely because federal workers who took the deferred resignation offered as part of the DOGE job cuts earlier this year finally appeared in the data after the deferment ended.

Data published by the BLS last week showed job openings have been trending upward as of October, although they're still far below what job seekers were accustomed to a few years ago. Workers' confidence has also been low, as October's quit rate was the lowest since 2020.

"Job growth has been very slow over the course of 2025, and it doesn't seem like we've turned around quite yet to translate the pent-up demand for hiring and the recent increase in job openings into actual hires," Bachaud said, adding that uncertainty over tariffs, inflation, and geopolitical issues has added to companies holding back on hiring plans.

"That's the big question mark — when is that uncertainty going to finally ease up?" she said.

Healthcare's job growth masks weakness in many other sectors

The better-than-expected growth in November was largely helped by job growth in healthcare, so Ullrich said this "doesn't show a whole lot of strength in the macro labor market."

Healthcare and social assistance sectors together had a net gain of 64,000 over the month. Most industries had a decline or a small rise in employment. Manufacturing, for instance, has continued its ongoing net loss.

Healthcare has been a bright spot throughout the year, and Bachaud said there will still be demand for workers as the population ages. However, it could be challenging for job seekers to pivot into these positions. Ullrich said many jobs in the sector typically require certain training and education.

"Construction is the other industry that we saw really strong growth in, as there is demand for continued skilled trades," Bachaud said. Construction added 28,000 jobs, with the largest growth from specialty trade contractors.

Employers still have the upper hand

Wage growth has gradually cooled and reached the lowest point so far this year in November. Average hourly earnings rose 3.5% from a year ago.

The generally softer job market has made it harder for workers to negotiate higher wages. Ullrich said physicians have better wage-setting power than roles that aren't seeing a lot of openings and where talent is waiting on the sidelines for a role.

She said employers can probably offer lower raises to current talent, too, since more people are staying put.

"If you know people aren't quitting, you might not have to offer them the same bump in pay that you would if the quits rate was higher," she said. "That being said, there's still very tight competition for certain roles."

Unemployment is the highest since 2021

The October 2025 unemployment rate won't ever be released because that data, typically gathered from a survey of around 60,000 households a month, couldn't be collected during or after the government shutdown. However, unemployment had been trending upward before that, and November was the same story.

November's unemployment rate was the highest since September 2021 and slightly higher than expected. Still, the Bureau of Labor Statistics warned of data issues with unemployment and related figures over the next few months due to the missing October household survey, so economists and others will have to see how the rate continues to pan out.

Despite the data challenges, Bachaud said the higher unemployment rate and stickier long-term unemployment, where people have been out of a job for at least 27 weeks and actively searching, indicate that it has become harder to land a job.

• Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson are engaged after a year of dating.
• Anderson, a socialite, model, and influencer, comes from a prominent Palm Beach family.
• She attended the Republican National Convention and was linked to Trump Jr. in September 2024.

Bettina Anderson was already well-known in Palm Beach, Florida, for her fashion modeling, passion for environmental conservation and charity work, and being from a prominent banking family.

Then, she was photographed on what appeared to be romantic outings with Donald Trump Jr.

The pair made their official debut as a couple during President Donald Trump's inauguration, where they were photographed holding hands, walking arm-in-arm, and dancing together at several events.

In December, they announced their engagement after a year of dating.

Here's what to know about Anderson's upbringing, career, and connection to the Trump family.

Bettina Anderson grew up in Palm Beach, Florida, and comes from a prominent family.

Anderson's father, Harry Loy Anderson Jr., became the youngest bank president in the US in 1970 when he took over Worth Avenue National Bank at 26 years old. He was also a philanthropist who supported numerous charitable causes including the American Red Cross, of which he was a board member. He died of Alzheimer's in 2013 at 70 years old, according to his obituary.

Her mother, Inger Anderson, is a philanthropist and business owner who operates Palm Beach Groves, an orange orchard and souvenir shop that she and her husband bought in 1978.

Anderson, 39, grew up on a Palm Beach estate known as Oasis Cottage that once belonged to fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau. Inger Anderson sold the state for $11.88 million in 2016, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.

Anderson has five siblings, including a twin sister.

Anderson is an Ivy League graduate.

Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in art history from Columbia University in 2009, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She's worked as a business development professional as well as a model and influencer.

Anderson's résumé includes working as a business development manager for the pharmaceutical company TherapeuticsMD and as an independent consultant for the Florida-based investment company Merrick Ventures.

She has modeled for Quest Magazine, Palm Beach Illustrated, and Modern Luxury Palm Beach, in which she was referred to as an "ambassador of Palm Beach style and local 'it' girl."

Anderson also has over 106,000 followers on Instagram, where her profile features affiliate links to skincare products and her Amazon Shop.

She co-founded an environmental charity with her siblings called Project Paradise.

Project Paradise funds filmmaking grants for documentaries about environmental conservation.

The organization released a short documentary, "The Water State," calling attention to the fragility of Florida's freshwater springs.

"One of the greatest focuses of my life is how I can be of service to others and a be steward of the environment," Anderson told fashion blog The Daily Front Row in 2022.

Anderson also volunteers with the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County and is a young patron of The Everglades Foundation.

Anderson attended the Republican National Convention in July 2024, months before she was first linked to Donald Trump Jr. that September.

At the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Anderson was seated behind Donald Trump Jr., his former fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, and other members of the Trump family.

In September 2024, the Daily Mail reported that Anderson and Trump Jr. were seen kissing and eating brunch together in Palm Beach. Neither responded to a request for comment about the nature of their relationship.

She co-hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump's presidential campaign at Mar-a-Lago in October 2024.

The event featured former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Vivek Ramaswamy, all of whom went on to become members of Trump's administration.

Attending the dinner cost $100,000 per couple, and admission to a fireside chat cost $30,000 per couple, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.

Anderson has featured Trump Jr. on her Instagram and joined him at Mar-a-Lago.

On her birthday in December 2024, Anderson posted a photo of a bouquet of flowers on an Instagram Story and tagged Trump Jr.

The card accompanying the flowers read, "Many have said you're aging out but I think you're perfect…happy birthday!"

Anderson and Trump Jr. were also photographed holding hands while exiting a restaurant in Palm Beach and celebrating Trump Jr.'s birthday together at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Eve.

In December 2024, Trump Jr. stopped short of confirming his breakup with Guilfoyle, but told Page Six in a statement that he and Guilfoyle "will always keep a special bond" and that he "could not be more proud of her and the important role she'll continue to play in my father's administration" as ambassador to Greece.

Anderson and Trump Jr. made their public debut as a couple at Trump's inauguration in January 2025.

Anderson and Trump Jr. appeared together throughout the inauguration festivities.

Anderson and Trump Jr. attended a reception together at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC. The night before the inauguration, they held hands and danced at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball.

Anderson attended Trump's inauguration ceremony at the US Capitol, but was not seated with Trump Jr. or other Trump family members.

Guilfoyle was at the Capitol Rotunda for the swearing-in ceremony and was not seated with the Trump family, either. She was also an honorary cochair of the Bienvenido Ball, which Trump Jr. attended.

She has since attended numerous official White House events.

Anderson appeared at Trump Jr.'s side at the White House Easter Egg Roll in April, the US Army's 250th anniversary military parade in June, Charlie Kirk's posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in October, and a White House dinner for Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia in November.

The couple announced their engagement at a White House holiday party in December.