New York City Mayor Eric Adams works in the spotlight, but he keeps his personal life, including his relationship with longtime girlfriend Tracey Collins, under the radar — and that’s mostly by design.
“Throughout my entire police career, none of my colleagues knew I had a son. I wanted to protect him from the reality of what I was doing. I became very closed off,” he said at a press conference in June 2021, according to ABC 7 .. “My secrecy is my family. I signed up for this life. They didn’t sign up for this life.”
In September 2024, Adams became the first mayor of New York City to face criminal charges while in office. However, the details of his indictment are currently under seal.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers, I would be a target – and I became one.” I am innocent and will fight this with all my might and spirit,” Adams said in a statement to PEOPLE.
So who is New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ girlfriend? Here’s everything you need to know about Tracey Collins and her relationship with the politician.
He lives in New Jersey
Eric Adams and his girlfriend Tracey Collins attend Day 1 of the 2022 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2022 in Queens, New York City. Jean Catuffe/GC images
During the 2021 mayoral primary and the early part of Adams’ tenure, many speculated that he actually lived in New Jersey. While he has claimed his primary residence is in the New York borough of Brooklyn, Collins lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where she and Adams own a home together.
“I’ve never made it a secret that I own a co-op in New Jersey with Tracey, but my permanent residence is in Brooklyn,” Adams said. Politically in June 2021.
Adams and Collins’ home in Fort Lee is reportedly in a high-rise building overlooking the Hudson River, according to The New York Times.
Before living in New Jersey and working in the Big Apple, Collins was born and raised in New Orleans, according to her 2008 book. Sweet Encouragements: Showing Compassion for Others.
Works at the NYC Department of Education
Collins began working as a school administrator for the NYC Department of Education in 2008, according to The New York Post. She was later named DOE’s Senior Advisor to the Vice Chancellor for School Leadership.
Adams wrote in his vegan cookbook, Finally healthypublished in 2020, that Collins regularly worked 12-hour days and “never gets a break.”
“She gets up at the crack of dawn to lead the largest school system in the United States,” he added. “She oversees schools in Brooklyn and the Bronx. I’ve never met anyone more dedicated to her job than Tracey.”
She was Adams’ plus one at the Met Gala
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Tracey Collins, Eric Adams and Anna Wintour at the New York Fashion Week Reception hosted by Mayor Eric Adams, Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America at Gracie Mansion on September 8, 2022 in New York City. Taylor Hill/Getty
Collins joined Adams at his mayoral inauguration in January 2021, but was not present at any public events until the Met Gala in May 2022.
Collins wore an Oscar de la Renta dress for the occasion, which she borrowed with help Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
A representative for Mayor Adams said New York Post that a member of Wintour’s team at Condé Nast helped Collins choose a dress that she asked to be “elegantly glamorous” and preferably in white.
“They gave her a few options, but the first dress she tried on looked amazing and that’s when she knew she was meant to be,” the rep said. “She never got to try on another dress.”
It was the first Met Gala for both Adams and Collins; The New York Times reported that he introduced Collins as his “other half” at the haute couture soirée.
Since then, the couple has attended the US Open and New York Fashion Week.
She and Adams went vegan together
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Eric Adams reacts on stage during the National Urban League Plenary Conference II: State of Black America on July 28, 2023 in Houston, Texas.
Arturo Holmes/Getty
In his book Finally healthyAdams wrote that he and Collins began their vegan diet after she was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Adams was previously diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
“We do everything together and I wasn’t ready to jump in unless she was,” he wrote. “Tracey and I are not half-hearted people.”
Adams recalled Collins emptying containers of many of her favorite dishes and “special dishes.”
“It was old favorites that made her think back to her childhood, including the chicken jambalaya her mother used to make,” Adams noted.
He also wrote that after going vegan together, they lost 30 pounds, adapted their favorite plant-based recipes and learned new recipes, including a vegan cornbread crust pie.
She is a published author
Collins is the author of an inspiring book Sweet incentivespublished in 2008. Adams, then a New York state senator, wrote the book’s foreword.
The project highlighted random acts of kindness and the effects of such gestures on people’s lives. Portions of the proceeds from the book were donated to Hurricane Katrina relief.
She founded a non-profit organization that Adams championed
In addition to her educational and writing work, Collins founded the nonprofit Fully Persuaded for Children & Families in 2007. The organization focuses on social-emotional education to improve decision-making, reduce violence and contribute to safer communities. Adams supported Collins’ work during his tenure as a New York State Senator.
One of Collins’ initiatives with Fully Persuaded was the “Stop the Sag” billboard campaign in 2010. In partnership with then-state Sen. Adams, the nonprofit encouraged teenagers and young adults in New York City to pull up their pants.
“While it is natural for young people to push the boundaries of what is acceptable, parents in the home and leaders in the community must step up when something is harmful,” Adams said in a statement at the time.
He continued: “This culture of saggy pants represents an immature disregard for the basic civility, decency and responsibility that our young men should exercise.”
Fully convinced closed in 2015.
He rarely appears with Adams
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Eric Adams and Tracey Collins at the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City.
Eric Adams X
While Adams and Collins encourage each other’s professional ambitions, they don’t often go out together. However, on rare occasions, the couple makes the most of it, like during the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City
In honor of the start of the holiday season, Adams and Collins stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the annual event and sent a short message to New Yorkers, which was shared on X (formerly Twitter).
“I’m hanging out here at the Macy’s Parade. Beautiful day for the weather. Tracey loves balloons,” he said. “He loves them!” she interjected before they both wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
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Source: HIS Education