She’s the girl with a Shih Tzu named Enzo, a sharp eye for lingerie design, and a past that’s forever tethered to America’s most infamous first son. Zoe Kestan, once known to her Instagram followers as @weedslut420, is no longer just a name whispered in New York’s downtown scene. She’s a tabloid fixation, a cautionary tale, and—by her own admission—a woman still trying to reclaim her identity from the whirlwind that was Hunter Biden.
Kestan met Biden back in 2017, at Manhattan’s Vivid Cabaret, a strip club where smoky neon lights blend with fantasies sold by the hour. She was 24, fresh-faced and full of ambition, balancing her dual lives as a fashion designer and a fixture of the city’s nightlife. He was 47, twice her age, and a ghost of privilege wrapped in addiction and regret. The story writes itself—or at least it would have if the characters weren’t so tragically real.
Now 31, Zoe Kestan is ready to talk. But her narrative isn’t one of pure victimhood or tabloid sensationalism. It’s a tangled mess of lust, love, betrayal, and the kind of fallout that sticks to your skin like glitter after a long night.
From the Upper East Side to the Underbelly of Fame
Zoe grew up in Yorkville, a pocket of Manhattan’s Upper East Side that boasts prep schools and posh brownstones. Her parents—a lawyer and a salesperson—had ambitions for their daughter, and Zoe didn’t disappoint. She enrolled at Horace Mann, a school that churns out Ivy League-bound overachievers, and later attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. By her early twenties, she was mixing colors for Jeff Koons and rubbing elbows with New York’s creative elite.
But Zoe wasn’t just an art-school kid with a trust fund sheen. She thrived in the after-dark economy of Manhattan nightlife, frequenting spots like Boom Boom Room and China Chalet, where influencers, designers, and downtown misfits gathered. This duality—Upper East Side pedigree and downtown grit—set her apart, and by 2017, she launched her own lingerie line. Branded “WEEDSLUT,” it was an unapologetic celebration of sex, weed, and the kind of over-the-top glam that refuses to apologize.
That same year, Hunter Biden walked into her life.
The Strip Club Encounter That Sparked a Scandal
It was another night at Vivid Cabaret when Biden booked a private room, where Kestan first danced for him. She didn’t know who he was. To her, he was just another VIP client looking for company. But their story didn’t end with that lap dance. A few weeks later, they crossed paths at a downtown hotel party. By then, Biden wasn’t just curious about her work; he was peeling back layers of his own pain—his battles with crack cocaine and alcohol, his dysfunctional relationships, and his insecurities.
For Kestan, it wasn’t just lust. She saw a wounded man, a project, perhaps even a partner. For Biden, it was another escape hatch. What followed was an 11-month saga that felt more like a runaway train than a relationship.
Hotels, Addiction, and a Crash Landing
Their romance played out like a grunge-era fever dream—luxury hotels in Los Angeles and New York, wild nights at the Chateau Marmont, and fleeting whispers of rehab. Kestan got a front-row seat to Biden’s struggles, watching him unravel even as he promised her stability. By late 2018, the cracks were too big to ignore. She was driving him to Rhode Island for cocaine pickups, ignoring the red flags flapping violently in the wind.
Then came the message—the one that ended it all. “I wronged you. I intentionally hurt you. I am a bad man. You need to be away from me forever,” Hunter texted. It wasn’t a breakup; it was a self-immolation. The romance ended in chaos, leaving Kestan with nothing but memories, wounds, and a public association with the Biden circus.
Living in the Shadow of the “First Son”
Today, Zoe Kestan is far removed from those nights at Vivid or the Chateau Marmont. She lives in Brooklyn with Enzo, her Shih Tzu, and tries to carve out a path that isn’t defined by her time with Biden. But the shadow lingers. From Hunter’s infamous laptop leaks to his ongoing legal battles, her name keeps resurfacing, like an unwanted guest at a party she left years ago.
“It’s hard,” Kestan admitted to the New York Times. “I’m constantly reminded that, to some people, I’ll always be Hunter’s ex, not Zoe Kestan.”
A Tabloid Figure, But Much More Than That
Zoe Kestan’s story is a modern parable of fame, scandal, and the collateral damage of proximity to power. She’s not a hero, nor is she a villain. She’s just a woman who fell into the orbit of a man whose life is as messy as it is privileged. And while the tabloids may never let her forget her connection to the Bidens, Kestan is determined to reclaim her narrative.
She’s more than Hunter’s ex. She’s an artist, a designer, and a woman who’s still standing, despite the storm. And if she has anything to say about it, that’s the story she’ll be remembered for.
Last modified: December 4, 2024
