Bec Oakes
Earlier this week, Donald Trump addressed Congress for the first time since returning to the White House for his second term in office.
SpaceX founder and head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk was in attendance at the speech, as was a mysterious blonde woman whose presence sparked a lot of speculation on social media after the pair were seen chatting.
During the address, Trump announced: "I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE," before directly addressing Musk who stands up.
Advert
"Thank you, Elon. He's working very hard," he said to the Tesla CEO.
The blonde woman, who was seated next to Musk throughout, also stands and joins the room in applauding him.
Following her appearance, social media was rife with speculation about the mysterious blonde, most joking that the pair must be romantically linked.
One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Elon Musk might get this woman pregnant tonight."
For context, Musk is the father of 14 kids with four different women.
Another joked: "That blonde woman sitting next to Elon Musk is going to give birth in 9 months."
And a third quipped: "Someone check on Ashley St Claire," referring to the mother of one of Musk's children. "She’s not going to be okay after seeing Elon’s new blonde friend."
Now, Newsweek has revealed the identity of the uproar-causing woman.
Her name is Heather Valentino, although little is currently known about her.
According to her social media profiles, Valentino is a licensed aesthetician and HydraFacial specialist. Beyond that, her presence online is limited.
An X profile that may belong to Valentino appeared on the platform earlier this month. The only account it follows belongs to the president and her profile picture shows her at the Congress address.
One of Valentino's co-workers at Pittsburgh's Beautox Aesthetics has since spoken out about her relationship with Musk, claiming the pair did not know each other before Trump's speech earlier this week.
"She was just there watching [the speech]," the spa's office manager Diana told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. "It's funny, because it looked like they were together, but they weren't... they do not know each other... I'm sure they met there."
She added that she was aware Valentino would be attending the speech but was shocked to see her on TV next to Musk.
It is currently unknown how she got the coveted seat at the event.