John Fetterman's wife, Gisele, says she's 'so proud of him' for seeking treatment for depression. Here's a timeline of their relationship.

John Fetterman served as the mayor of Braddock from 2006 to 2019. Dubbed "America's coolest mayor" by The Guardian in 2009, he gained national attention for his efforts to bring new life to the struggling Rust Belt town, creating jobs with grants for youth employment programs and turning abandoned buildings into arts spaces and community centers.

Gisele Fetterman, who worked as a nutritionist and food justice activist in Newark, New Jersey, read an article about him in a magazine and wrote a letter to Braddock asking how she could help, she told Philly Mag. She eventually connected with John Fetterman and traveled to Braddock to meet him. They exchanged more letters before beginning a long-distance relationship.

"I wrote a letter to the borough sharing the work that I was doing, and that I wanted to visit and learn and do something — whatever that looked like," she told People magazine in 2021. "The letter ultimately ended up with John. We talked on the phone, I planned the visit, and that's how I first got to Braddock."

He proposed with a vintage ring his parents had bought at an estate sale when he was young, he told People magazine.

"I just thought that this was the person I wanted to take a chance with," John Fetterman told People magazine.

John Fetterman wished Karl a happy birthday on Twitter in 2022.

"Exactly 13 years ago today, I experienced the joy + awe for the 1st time ever, of becoming a father," he wrote. "No title will ever match 'Dad.'"

Grace shares a birthday with her father, who was born on August 15, 1969.

In April 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, the Fettermans had to cancel August's 6th birthday party. Gisele Fetterman shared a photo on Twitter of the stuffed animal "guests" that attended, instead.

While campaigning, John Fetterman showed off the tattoos on his right arm memorializing the dates of murders that occurred in Braddock while he was mayor. He also has Braddock's zip code, 15104, tattooed on his left arm.

McGinty lost the general election to Republican Pat Toomey.

The Fettermans opted not to move into the lieutenant governor's residence in Harrisburg, instead using it for public programming. Gisele Fetterman oversaw an initiative to open the mansion's pool to members of the public and nonprofits providing swim lessons for children in 2019.

"Gisele and I have always maintained that if our children are welcome to swim in this pool, so should every other child in Pennsylvania," John Fetterman told Fox43 News in 2021.

He also held a rainbow light display at the state capitol building in honor of Pride Month, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.

Gisele Fetterman, who is bisexual, posted photos with her family at pride events wearing a shirt that read, "If you play for both teams you'll always win."

On the way to a campaign event on May 13, Gisele Fetterman noticed the corner of her husband's mouth droop and insisted that he get checked out at a hospital. It turned out to be a stroke that nearly killed him.

The stroke impaired John Fetterman's ability to speak smoothly and impacted his auditory processing abilities, forcing him to take a break from the campaign trail. As he recovered, Gisele Fetterman took his place at public appearances, and even delivered his acceptance speech when he won the Democratic Senate primary.

"It's easy because I know his message, and I love him, and I know how good he is, and I get to tell that to people," she told the Washington Post.

"I voted for that guy!" Gisele Fetterman told reporters as she left the polling station on election day, pointing at her husband.

In his victory speech that night, John Fetterman thanked his family and his wife, "who, six months ago, saved my life."

John Fetterman traded his trademark hoodies and shorts for a new suit. Gisele Fetterman wore a thrifted Temperley London dress she found on The Real Real for $69, Philly Mag reported.

Gisele Fetterman has often shared photos on social media of her and her husband with his head out of the frame in order to fit her entire outfit into the picture.

"It's been going on for a few years and I still giggle every time," she told the LGBTQ+ blog Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents in 2019 of the running joke. "John is very tall and when cropping for Instagram photos, I would lose my shoes if I left his head in there. The shoes won and they continue to win, every time."

Adam Jentleson, Fetterman's chief of staff, said in a statement that the senator has experienced depression "off and on throughout his life," but that it "became severe in recent weeks."

John Fetterman is currently being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Jentleson said he is "receiving treatment on a voluntary basis."

"After examining John, the doctors at Walter Reed told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to himself," Jentleson said.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is common, with studies estimating it affects about one in every three people in the year after their stroke. That rate is at least three times higher than the rate of depression in the general population, Insider's Hilary Brueck and Lloyd Lee reported.

"After what he's been through in the past year, there's probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John," Gisele Fetterman wrote on Twitter. "I'm so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs."

Gisele Fetterman also wrote in a Twitter thread that when media trucks surrounded their home after the news of John Fetterman's hospitalization broke, she took her children to Canada to escape further scrutiny.

"We did some scary things but we did them together," she wrote. "We ziplined over Niagara Falls and August got stuck. We talked about flexibility and the need to always have an open heart and an open mind. We also talked about how joy and fun can and must still exist, even when someone we love is in pain. And tomorrow? Who knows. Will try all over again."