Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Wife Announce Separation
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray after 30 years of marriage, have announced their separation revealing that they did not file for divorce and would still live together.
The couple made this known in a three-hour interview with The New York Times which was published on Wednesday. While acknowledging their split they disclosed that their relationship had become unproductive and required a change adding that they would be going through a trial separation and dating other people but were not aiming to get divorced.
“I just want to have fun,” McCray, who was living as a lesbian when they met, told the New York Times in a joint interview announcing the split.
The decision, according to the couple, was made after a heart-to-heart conversation around two months ago where they talked about why they weren’t “lovey-dovey anymore.”
“I thought it was a distraction,” McCray said of the much-mocked bid that never came close to succeeding.
The mayor told the New York Times of his marriage: “I can look back now and say, ‘Here were these inflection points where we should have been saying something to each other.’ And I think one of the things I should have said more is: ‘Are you happy? What will make you happy? What’s missing in your life?'”
Mr. de Blasio expressed regret over not probing hard about their satisfaction and needs during his reflection on their choice. stating that he believed that the stress on their marriage was a result of their public personalities.
They also acknowledge that the marriage had begun to fall apart during the then-mayor’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, and the Covid-19 situation also made it difficult for them to work on their relationship.
Their Park Slope townhouse, which functioned as the family home where they raised their two children, will remain their primary residence. They intend to continue living together despite their separation choice.
De Blasio and McCray, a writer, and activist got married in 1994. They share two children; daughter Chiara, 28, and son Dante, 25.