They met not on a campaign stage but on a phone screen—a modern love story that would soon make history. On election night, as New York City celebrated its next mayor, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, his wife, 28-year-old artist Rama Duwaji, stood beside him, smiling quietly at what they’d built together.
Their story began on Hinge in 2021, leading to coffee at a Yemeni café in Brooklyn and a walk through McCarren Park. On their second date, he showed her around Astoria, the neighborhood that would one day help make him mayor. What started simply soon became a partnership rooted in love and purpose.
By October 2024, they were engaged. Rama shared photos, writing she “couldn’t be prouder.” Soon after, he launched his campaign. That December, they celebrated their engagement and nikah in Dubai beneath sunset skies and white roses—a private promise turned public.
Two months later, they married quietly at New York’s City Clerk’s Office. A candid subway photo of the couple—Rama in a white dress and boots, bouquet in hand—captured the city’s imagination. Mamdani later defended her from online attacks, calling her “an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.”
Rama’s journey began in Houston and continued in Dubai before she returned to the U.S. for school. Now a celebrated illustrator, her work explores identity, womanhood, and displacement, with a strong voice for Middle Eastern women and Palestinian solidarity.
She also helped shape Mamdani’s campaign visuals—bold, vibrant, and unmistakably New York. Though she avoided the spotlight, her creative imprint was everywhere.
As New York’s First Lady—and the first Gen Z to hold the role—Rama brings a blend of artistry and authenticity to City Hall.
Their love story, rooted in creativity and conviction, now stretches from Brooklyn to Gracie Mansion—a partnership built on purpose and possibility.
