Chirlane McCray and Bill de Blasio at the opening night ofParadise Squarein New York City on April 3, 2022.Photo:Press/Shutterstock
Press/Shutterstock
Bill de Blasioand Chirlane McCray have separated.
The pair confirmed their breakup after 29 years of marriage in a prolific interview withThe New York Timespublished on Wednesday, revealing that they would be undergoing a trial separation and dating other people but weren’t planning to divorce.
In the interview, de Blasio, 62, and McCray, 68, said that while they were grateful for his experience as former mayor of New York City, it took a toll on their marriage.
“Everything was this overwhelming schedule, this sort of series of tasks," de Blasio told the outlet. “And that kind of took away a little bit of our soul.”
He also recalled seeing a therapist right before theCOVID-19 pandemichit and said of that time, “It made me emotionally very needy, and we were not as connected.”
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Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray with their kids in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 5, 2013.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
De Blasio and McCray, a writer and activist, married in 1994. They share two children — daughter Chiara, 28, and son Dante, 25 — and are planning to still continue to live together in the townhouse where they raised their kids, located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
They made the decision to split that same evening after speaking about their relationship in detail, including what they needed and weren’t getting out of it.
“You can feel when things are off, and you don’t want to live that way,” de Blasio said, while McCray noted, “You can’t fake it.”
“I can look back now and say, ‘Here were these inflection points where we should have been saying something to each other,’ ” he said elsewhere in the interview. “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?’ "
Chirlane McCray and Bill de Blasio attend the “Hometown Heroes” tickertape parade on July 7, 2021, in New York City.Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
First elected as mayor of New York City in 2013, de Blasio left office on Jan. 1, 2022, making way for new MayorEric Adams, who was sworn in after theNew Year’s Evemidnight ball drop in Times Square in the first minutes of 2022.
As 2021 neared its end, de Blasio filed paperwork indicating he was interested in challenging Gov.Kathy Hochul(who took over in Albany afterdisgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomostepped won),Politicoreportedat the end of October 2021.
“I want to continue in public service and there’s a lot that needs to be fixed in Albany. There’s a lot that needs to be changed in the State of New York,” he said during a November 201 appearance on MSNBC’sMorning Joe. “I look forward to being part of the discussion of where our state needs to go in the future. I’ll tell you more about the politics a little bit down the line, but I got to tell you I’m excited and I’m energized to get out there and continue to serve.”
But later in January 2022, de Blasio announced that he wasnot running for governor of New Yorkafter all.
“This is the right place for me to share some news with you,” hesaid in a videorecorded on a block in Brooklyn where he lives. “No, I am not going to be running for governor in New York state. But I am going to devote every fiber of my being to fight inequality in the state of New York. We got a lot to do. Together.”
source: people.com
