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She's his second wife.
By Samantha Maffucci — Written on Oct 11, 2018
Since 2015, Republican Thom Tillis has served as a junior member of the U.S. Senate, representing the state of North Carolina.
A prior Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Tillis’ views are pretty common with his fellow Conservatives, though, over time, his opinions on certain issues have evolved. He supports DACA, believes global warming is a result of human action, and was against the president banning transgender individuals from being in the military.
However, to date, Tillis has received over $4 million in donations from the NRA and was a huge supporter of Brett Kavanaugh being confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not all families and spouses agree with their partner’s political views, but who is Thom Tillis’ wife and how does she feel about his later-in-life career in politics? Here are 5 things to know about Susan Tillis.
1. They’ve been married for just over 30 years.
The couple wed in 1987 and celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary in June. Together, they have two children, Lindsay and Ryan, who are both grown adults.
Lindsay graduated from college as a registered nurse in 2016, and married in August of the same year, with her father walking her down the aisle. Lindsay later gave birth to a daughter in 2017, making the Tillis' new grandparents! Ryan graduated from American University in 2012.
2. She’s his second wife.
Tillis was previously married to (and divorced from) his ex-wife not once, but twice! The couple had no children together and were high school sweethearts.
3. She’s a real estate agent.
Before having a career in real estate, however, Susan was a stay-at-home mom, volunteering for the PTA, serving on nonprofit boards, being a Girl Scout Leader, and teaching Sunday school.
But since 2005, she has worked at Allen Tate Realtors in Davidson, NC. According to her employer’s website, “When she moved to North Carolina 19 years ago, Susan loved the Charlotte and Lake Norman region so much, she wanted to share it with others. A real estate career was the perfect fit.”
4. She runs a nonprofit for military families.
She runs the Susan M. Tillis Foundation, an idea that began when she participated in baby showers for military families at Fort Bragg. She runs fundraising events, in which, recently, gifts were given to a young military family, and $1,500 was raised to buy a car full of baby gifts for other families.
According to the foundation’s website, “For Susan, the development of the organization came naturally, as she has always been focused on the mission of improving the lives of U.S. military and veteran families. The wife of a current U.S. Senator, Susan and her husband have long been advocates of our nation’s heroes.”
5. She’s always been supportive of her husband.
During Tillis’ run for election in 2014, she was part of his campaign and accompanied him on multiple stops. In an interview with the Citizen Times, Susan said, “What I find traveling across the state is the more North Carolinians hear about Thom’s working class background and the reforms he’s implemented in Raleigh to help families, the more excited they get about sending him to Washington.”
Samantha Maffucci is an associate editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.