Chris Pappas’ Husband: All About the First Openly Gay Senator’s Relationship
On November 3, New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man to be elected to the Senate. Pappas is no stranger to politics, having served for four terms in the House of Representatives. For the majority of that time, he’s had Vann Bentley by his side.
Pappas’ husband has shown his support at several campaign events, including his Senate victory speech. They hugged during the televised moment, with Pappas thanking his “amazing husband.” The U.S. Senator-elect said, “And look, tonight, win, lose, or draw, I’m the luckiest guy because I’m married to a man that I love. And despite all the negative attacks and the lies, it’s nice to know that love and truth prevailed tonight.”
Get to know Vann Bentley and find out all the details about his relationship with the 46-year-old Senator below.
Who is Chris Pappas’ husband?
Bentley works in privacy and cybersecurity for Uber, a position he’s held since 2023, per LinkedIn. Before that, he worked for Amazon as a Policy Counsel.
Bentley was involved in government roles while getting his law degree from Georgetown between 2012 and 2015: He was a law clerk for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions over the summer of 2014. In the months before that, he was a law clerk at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He majored in political science and English at Vanderbilt University, attending from 2008 to 2012.
Currently, Pappas and Bentley, who is 10 years younger, live together in Manchester, New Hampshire. “They enjoy running, playing competitive board games, and spending time with their nieces, nephews, and extended family,” says the senator-elect’s website.
The couple got engaged in December 2021. “Well, we’d talked about [getting engaged] a lot, so I don’t think it was coming out of left field, but I was the one that, you know, broached the subject again in a more formal way, and it didn’t take a lot of convincing,” Pappas recalled in a June 2025 interview with LGBTQ Nation.
He added, “I don’t remember exactly what I said, but we’re really happy and also just feel incredibly lucky to have the support of our families, who have been there with us every step of the way.”
We said yes! Vann and I are thrilled to share the news of our engagement and look forward to a lifetime of happiness and togetherness. https://t.co/mzGomFZD7v
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) December 19, 2021
In February 2023, they shared the news of their marriage. “We feel so fortunate to have found each other and to be building our life together, and we’re grateful for the love and support of family and friends,” Pappas wrote in an X post.
Does Chris Pappas have kids?
Pappas and his husband don’t have any kids, though they haven’t ruled out becoming parents. He told LGBTQ Nation, “Well, we’ve got lots of amazing nieces and nephews in our lives, and we love being uncles. But it’s certainly something we’re thinking about as we think about the future. It’s something we’re considering.”
