Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden have given their blessing to the romantic relationship between their son, Hunter, and Hallie, the widow of their eldest son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in May 2015 at age 46.
“We are all lucky that Hunter and Hallie found each other as they were putting their lives together again after such sadness,” Biden said in a statement, according to the New York Post ‘s Page Six . “They have mine and Jill’s full and complete support and we are happy for them.”
The statement by Joe Biden comes after media outlets reported on Wednesday that Hunter Biden, 47, the former vice president’s youngest son, was dating Hallie Biden, 43, his former sister-in-law and widow of his late elder brother Beau.
Hunter, a lawyer, has been separated from his wife, Kathleen, 48, since October 15, according to Page Six , but the split was not made public.
YahooNews: Widow of Joe Biden’s late son is now dating the former veep’s other son https://t.co/1jBpfU6KTe pic.twitter.com/87MUTbRkGT
— jitendra pradhan (@jitenpr) March 1, 2017
Hunter has three daughters with Kathleen, Finnegan, Maisy, and Naomi.
Hallie and Hunter began dating after he split with Kathleen, according to Page Six .
“Hallie and I are incredibly lucky to have found the love and support we have for each other in such a difficult time, and that’s been obvious to the people who love us most,” Page Six reports Hunter said in a statement.
“We’ve been so lucky to have family and friends who have supported us every step of the way,” the statement added.
Beau Biden, Delaware’s former attorney general, who died in 2015 after a prolonged battle with brain cancer, was survived by his wife, Hallie, and two children, Natalie, 12, and Hunter, 10.
Beau had suffered other health problems before he died from brain cancer in 2015. Earlier in 2010, he suffered a minor stroke. He was first diagnosed of brain cancer in 2013, but received treatment and was declared cancer free.
But he was hospitalized again in 2015 for the same aliment.
Beau had served in Iraq as a major in the Delaware National Guard. His tragic death shocked the entire family and forced then-Vice President Joe Biden to abandon his plan to run for president in the 2016 general election.
Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice-President Joe Biden, is now dating Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother, Beau https://t.co/jU3jobFxya
— The Cut (@TheCut) March 1, 2017
He announced his decision not to run for president after his son’s death.
“As the family and I have worked through the grieving process, I’ve said all along what I’ve said time and again to others: that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president,” he said at the time, according to the Washington Post .
Beau Biden’s widow Hallie’s new boyfriend Hunter Biden pictures https://t.co/JvrsUNGj1b pic.twitter.com/eSkydld3WE
— infowe (@infowe) March 2, 2017
Beau Biden’s widow finds love with brother-in-law Hunter Biden https://t.co/nn3l1KC9zt via @DailyLifeAU
— Canberra Times (@canberratimes) March 2, 2017
“I’ve concluded it has closed. I know from previous experience that there’s no timetable for this process,” he continued. “But I also know that I couldn’t do this if the family wasn’t ready.”
Hunter and his brother Beau were only toddlers when their mother, Neilia, died in a car crash in 1972, according to the Daily Mail . The brothers were riding in the car with their mother when the accident happened, but they survived. Their younger sister, a 1-year-old, died in the accident.
The tragedy almost led to Biden giving up his Senate seat, but he eventually took the oath of office at the hospital where his sons were recovering after the deadly car crash.
Biden remarried in 1977.
Hunter’s name was linked to the Ashley Madison website infidelity scandal. It was found that the name of an account on the website matched his. But Hunter said at the time that the account was not his and that someone might have used his name without his knowledge and permission.
“I am certain that the account in question is not mine,” Hunter said, according to the New York Daily News . “This account was clearly set up by someone else without my knowledge and I first learned about the account in question from the media.”
[Featured Image by Susan Walsh/AP Images]