When she married lawyer Brett Kavanaugh in 2004 at Christ Church in Washington’s old-money Georgetown neighbourhood, Ashley Estes had to run a gauntlet of Secret Service agents with machine guns.

The reason? Inside the church, there were guests more famous than the bride and groom: President George W Bush and the First Lady.

“It was the only wedding in the hundreds I have planned where all of the guests were in their seats 15 minutes early,” planner Laura Weatherly told the Washingtonian in a 2008 story headlined ‘Weddings of the Rich and Famous’.

Fourteen years on, while not Secret Service-worthy, Brett Kavanaugh, 53, is also a household name thanks to allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

As she pledged to do on their wedding day, his wife Ashley is standing beside him while the FBI investigates the accusations and Judge Kavanaugh fights to save his US Supreme Court nomination.

Tonight I sit down exclusively with Supreme Court Nominee Bret Kavanaugh and his wife Ashley on The Story. 7pm ET. pic.twitter.com/bhAH9teSFK

— Martha MacCallum (@marthamaccallum) September 24, 2018

Until last month, the mother of two, 43, led a more quiet life than when her own expansive political history included the role of personal secretary to President Bush for three years until 2004.

She earns around $91,000 as the town manager of section 5 of the Maryland village of Chevy Chase, named three years ago as one of the 17th-richest districts in the US.

While the village bans commercial enterprise to protect its charm, just outside the border “Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Bulgari stores sit alongside each other”, The Guardian reported in 2015.

Among Mrs Kavanaugh’s duties in the 227-house neighbourhood: Compiling the town’s online newsletter, which last month flagged the upcoming council meeting, the bulk rubbish collection and the annual autumn block party.

RSVPs for that event (“Food catered by Rio Grande plus slides, rides, ice cream and more!”) were directed straight to the town manager, but she had her hands full with other things.

Five days earlier, the University of Texas journalism graduate sat beside her husband for a Fox News interview, where she was asked whether she doubted her husband.

“No. I mean, I know Brett — I’ve known him for 17 years,” said Mrs Kavanaugh, her hands resting on her knees as her husband denied accounts of women who said he forced himself on them in high school.

“He’s decent. He’s kind. He’s good. I know his heart. This is not consistent with Brett.”

A car leaves Brett Kavanaugh’s Chevy Chase home on September 24. Photo: Getty

The soft-pedal interview gave some insights into what the Kavanaughs’ life is like with their young daughters Liza and Margaret in the family’s double-storey cream weatherboard home.

An American flag flies outside the house. Regular churchgoers and volunteers, the Kavanaughs are both athletic. She played golf at university and he’s completed the Boston Marathon twice, with a personal best of 3hr 59min 45sec, according to Boston.com.

Chances are, the couple also talk about politics: They met while working for the Bush administration in 2001, and their first date was the night before the September 11 terrorism attacks.

“The next morning I was a few steps behind her as the Secret Service shouted out to all of us to sprint out the front gates of the White House, because there was an inbound plane,” Kavanaugh said in a speech after his Supreme Court nomination was announced in July.

According to My Statesman, he painted a picture of his wife as “a source of strength” for those around her.

“Through bad days and so many better days since then, she has been a great wife and inspiring mum.”

Margaret, Liza and Ashley Kavanaugh at a September 4 confirmation hearing. Photo: Getty

With her expression mostly carefully blank, Mrs Kavanaugh told Fox News that discussing the “process” of the FBI investigation into the allegations against her husband with their daughters is “difficult”.

But, she said, “We told them at the very beginning of this process, ‘This will be not fun sometimes. You’re going to hear things that … people feel strongly. You need to know that. Just remember, you know your dad’.”