As New York City celebrates its newest mayor, another figure has quietly drawn public fascination — his artist wife, whose quiet creativity and guarded privacy have now become part of the city’s biggest story.

Against all odds and expectations, 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has emerged as the Big Apple’s next mayor — a result that has rewritten the city’s political script and caught even seasoned observers off guard.

Zohran Mamdani attends a campaign event in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on November 1, 2025. | Source: Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani attends a campaign event in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on November 1, 2025. | Source: Getty Images

As the celebration around his victory settled, another story began quietly unfolding — that of his wife, Brooklyn artist Rama Duwaji, whose gentle expressions had suddenly met the glare of the metropolis’s spotlight.Once a freelance illustrator navigating post-college life, Duwaji met Mamdani in 2021 on the dating app Hinge — a modern fairytale beginning that blossomed into a whirlwind romance. They tied the knot at the City Clerk’s office in early 2025.

A Private Muse in the Public Eye

In a profoundly personal Instagram post on May 12, 2025, Mamdani poured his heart out:

“Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk’s office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race — which should be about you — about her. Rama isn’t just my wife, she’s an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.”

Despite becoming a subject of widespread fascination since Mamdani’s campaign took off, Duwaji has been noticeably absent from the limelight. According to The New York Times, she declined all press after the primary election, sharing that the sudden flood of attention was overwhelming