| Occupation: | Substack writer |
| Spouse: | Mike Kraus |
| Children: | 4 |
| Pseudonym: | House Inhabit |
| Page: | houseinhabit |
| Followers: | 1,336,000 |
| Stats Update: | October 25, 2024 |
Jessica Reed Kraus is an American writer, Instagram influencer, and former mommyblogger who writes the Substack newsletter House Inhabit. The newsletter covers celebrity gossip, conspiracy theories, and American politics.[1] [2] Krauss says she "lean[s] on gossip and anonymous sources...but the basic quest for truth, paired with a flexible narrative..."[3]
Kraus grew her Instagram account as a home improvement and lifestyle influencer, using the username @houseinhabit. Her home had been featured on Martha Stewart's Instagram page, and Kraus and her husband sold items on Etsy like teepees for kids.[4]
The Britney Spears conservatorship case interested Kraus, so she began posting about it to a receptive audience. Using Venmo, Kraus solicited donations to fund travel, often staying with friends.[5] [6] She attended the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021, and the Harvey Weinstein abuse case in 2022, posting about them on Instagram Stories and her Substack.
During the Depp v. Heard defamation trial Kraus posted daily updates on Instagram, often siding with actor Johnny Depp and criticizing his ex-wife Amber Heard.[7] Posting about the trial netted Kraus hundreds of thousands of followers. During the trial, Kraus called Heard a liar, accusing her of "making a mockery of the
", and posted stories about Heard's personal life. Kraus wrote in her newsletter that she spoke on the phone with Depp for an hour and a half at the beginning of the trial after being connected to him through an "old friend of Johnny's" Kraus met on Instagram. After the trial ended, Kraus wrote that she met Depp in person at a cocktail party, who thanked her for her writing.
The House Inhabit Substack newsletter has 380,000 paid and free subscribers, with the Wall Street Journal estimating it generates $1 million in annual revenue.
Kraus, previously considering herself "super liberal", became disillusioned with the Democratic party from COVID-19 lockdowns, a change in what Mother Jones describes as Kraus becoming "increasingly conspiratorial". Kraus moved to Substack during the COVID-19 pandemic, because of the lack of moderation. She was later critical of the platform for removing five Nazi newsletters, which did so after pushback from users.
Kraus has posted in approval of both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump,[8] describing her own coverage of the two as less biased compared to mainstream media. A fan of Kennedy, she regularly posted in support of him on her Instagram account and encouraged people to attend his campaign events. She praised the MAGA movement for being "always a good time" saying, "They drink well, dress up, get loud, bedazzle the hell outta their accessories, love this country unapologetically, and believe that Donald Trump’s reign is a God-granted gift to save us from woke infestation and communism."
She pitched to a Trump campaign aide to be a useful outlet, as her readership is primarily female and Trump's campaign had been seeking more influence in that demographic, which was accepted. The campaign, weeks later, invited Kraus to a Super Bowl party at Mar-a-Lago, where she posted dozens of times positively. According to Kraus, a Trump staffer commended her for her work in helping Trump win over women, compared to the mainstream media.
Kraus is not religious. She has four children. She is based in San Clemente, California and is married to a man named Mike.