The former mayor of New York Bill de Blasio and his wife, editor and writer Chirlane McCray are separating. The twist? They are not planning to get a divorce. Instead, the two will continue to share their New York City home and be free to date other people. The pair who were once adored in the political scene announced their separation in a winding New York Times’ profile.
“I just want to have fun,” McCray said in the profile. “It’s not that we haven’t had fun. There’s a certain weight that goes with being with Mr. Mayor.”
Shifting Gears
According to the New York Times profile, the husband and wife, who are in their sixties, arrived at their decision about two months ago when they mutually realized they were unhappy. Their conversation, which began with de Blasio asking his wife why they had stopped being physically affectionate towards each other, also led the couple to territories of what they wanted to get out of the relationship and what was no longer working for them.
As McCray told the New York Times, “You can’t fake it.”
Politics and Marriage
The couple’s decision to separate while retaining the same residence is especially unconventional for a couple whose lives are closely intertwined with politics. But as the couple admitted in their profile, it is, however, also politics, that led them to this unconventional resolution.
“Everything was this overwhelming schedule, this sort of series of tasks,” de Blasio says of that time. “And that kind of took away a little bit of our soul.”
The couple however admitted that they are happier than they have been in a long time. As de Blasio notes, “One of the things we’re saying to the world is we don’t need to possess each other.”