Bill De Blasio was seen first thing on Wednesday leaving his New York townhouse in an Uber – shortly after announcing his split from lesbian wife Chirlane McCray in a stunning interview.
The 62-year-old former mayor of New York City also took to Twitter to describe their split as a “love story” – while McCray, 68, got out of the house, they will go on to say that the split was “the right decision for us”. .
In a flattering interview with The New York Times, the couple gave a myriad of reasons for their split, from the strain de Blasio had placed on overseeing America’s largest city during the coronavirus crisis to McCray’s previously declared homosexuality.
Speaking outside her townhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn on Wednesday, McCray emphasized that she has a “very deep bond” with the politician-turned-Harvard educator and that they still love each other.
She told reporters, “It was a big change for us, but Bill and I are still very much in love.” We came to this decision together and I think it’s the right decision for us to start this new chapter in our lives begin.”
McCray appeared relaxed and cheerful as she told reporters she believes her “love story” with de Blasio and their recent amicable split — while continuing to live in the same house — could set a “role model” for other couples
When asked about the practicalities of the split — which results in the couple staying married and living in the same house — McCray continued, “That’s what we figure out.” It’s one thing to make a decision, one others to find out how it turns out, and that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few months.
“I hope we can be a role model for how couples can communicate honestly about their needs and act when they realize it’s time to go in a different direction. I think that’s important.”
“We have a very deep bond, we’ve been together for almost 32 years – we’ve served side by side at City Hall and even before that.”
“We raised a beautiful family — our family comes first.” “We just want to continue our lives as public people.”
She added that her children – Chiara, 25, and Dante, 26 – are “a little sad but very positive” about the split.
“They know that we love each other and that we will continue to spend time together,” she said.
McCray previously identified as a lesbian, but described de Blasio, 62, as her soulmate. The couple married in 1994.
The couple tied the knot in 1994 at a ceremony in Prospect Park led by two gay men – but announced their separation after 27 years of marriage
McCray’s relaxed and happy demeanor was evident during Wednesday’s interview, which was conducted outside her family’s $1.8 million Park Slope home.
She hasn’t said yet if she wants to go back to dating women after splitting from her husband.
Hours after the NY Times published her interview, de Blasio tweeted a link to the article with the caption, “Even in this changing moment, this is a love story.”
His tweet polarized on Twitter.
Some users rushed to wish the couple well, while others offered their indulgences in a three-hour interview about details of a relationship that fell apart while De Blasio fueled the Big Apple’s skyrocketing crime rate.
One person responded to his portrayal of his near-divorce as part of a “love story” by retort, “No — it’s a story of narcissism and unconscience through a partnership that destroyed NYC.”
But others wished the couple “good luck,” and one person backed up their feelings by saying, “Yes — loving doesn’t mean being possessive.”
Despite the split, the couple – who were married by two gay civil servants in 1994 – will still live together in Brooklyn and meet other people.
During the interview with The New York Times, in which they asked to reveal details about their near-divorce, de Blasio also opened up about his recent decision to start dying his hair.
The couple have made headlines in recent years amid financial scandals — including de Blasio being fined nearly $475,000 last month for misusing his personal police records during his failed 2020 presidential bid — a fine against which he has appealed.
McCray was also embroiled in a funding controversy as she failed to explain where the $850 million donated in 2019 to a mental health program she is involved with went to.
The duo’s decision to split came two months ago, when the former mayor asked his wife, ‘Why aren’t you in love anymore?’
De Blasio’s question prompted a reconsideration of their relationship, and the couple decided they would break up that same evening.
However, they acknowledged that the cracks in their marriage began to appear years before — particularly during the then-mayor’s disastrous 2020 bid for the White House.
De Blasio’s attempt to become the Democratic presidential nominee made him deeply unpopular as he pursued what critics called a vanity project while ignoring his obligations in the Big Apple.
McCray said even she believes his doomed bid is “a distraction” from his real duties – echoing the vocal grievances his constituents made four years ago.
The unpopular Democrat-turned-Harvard lecturer admitted it was “kind of true,” adding, “Point to Chirlane.”
Massachusetts-born McCray said she felt compelled to support the campaign despite her reservations.
“You can’t break something like that,” she said. “That’s part of the difficulty of being part of a package.”
The couple added that now, four years later, they’d decided not to divorce but would start dating other people — while still living in their Park Slope townhouse in Brooklyn, New York.
They also cited the pressures of the Manhattan-born former mayor’s responsibilities during his 2014-2021 tenure and Covid as some of the stresses that fractured their marriage.
De Blasio had begun therapy when the virus hit New York City in early 2020, but found his attempts at self-improvement were thwarted by his controversial response to the pandemic.
“Everything was this overwhelming schedule, this type of task line,” de Blasio said. “And that stole our soul a little bit.”
“It made me very needy emotionally,” he admitted, adding, “We weren’t that connected.”
“I just want to have fun,” McCray said in the interview, adding, “It’s not that we didn’t have fun.” She hasn’t said if she’ll be dating women again after her marriage to de Blasio ends .
The Times said the pair constantly “clasped hands” and “once gave an affirmative high-five” throughout the interview.
De Blasio also spoke about his fears of “being the guy who took the risk of an outed lesbian woman and wrote an article entitled ‘I’m a lesbian’.”
McCray identified as gay prior to meeting her and has never described her sexuality in any other way. She described de Blasio as her soulmate.
In the emotional 1979 essay, McCray wrote, “I survived the tears, the isolation, and the feeling that there was something terribly wrong with me for loving another woman.”
“I found it easier to come to terms with my life as a lesbian than many.”
“Because I don’t look or dress like the typical bulldagger[male lesbian]I have a choice about having my sexual preference known.”
But when McCray was asked about her sexuality during a Facebook question-and-answer session hosted by website Mic in 2015, she seemed unable to provide an answer.
She was asked, “Are you still a lesbian?” and she responded with an eye roll, but gave no verbal response.
De Blasio said he’s often thought about their sexuality and wondered, “Is this a ticking time bomb?”
But both parties seem excited for new romantic adventures, and de Blasio joked that his interviewer should include a photo of him at the gym in his article to lure future dates.
He added that he “never expected to do anything with the hair color” but instead opted for a strikingly dark short haircut – having previously sported a slightly longer, gray mane.
De Blasio added that his auburn hue was a little darker than he wanted, but added, “I like to feel what I feel.”
The pair became one of the most prominent interracial couples in American politics when they tied the knot in 1994, and the partnership helped fuel de Blasio’s progressive campaign for mayor in 2014.
A reader of her Times interview described it as an “early warning” for the couple that they could soon be popping up on popular dating apps like Tinder.
“Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray gave us an early warning that we might see them on Feeld or Tinder,” they said. “You know what, I appreciate that.”
De Blasio, a progressive Democrat, has proven to be one of New York’s most controversial mayors in recent memory.
He has been criticized for his soft stance on crime, which led to a surge in violence during his tenure, although the former mayor said Covid was partly to blame.
De Blasio was unpopular with the city’s police force and sparked further anger over his decision to hire McCray for public duties.
Earlier this month, New York officials fined the former mayor nearly $475,000 — the highest sum ever levied by the city’s regulator — for misusing his personal police records during his failed 2020 presidential bid.
He was accused of using his NYPD security guards on 31 foreign trips as part of his 2019 campaign. De Blasio has appealed the fine.
In March 2020, hours before New York City went into lockdown, de Blasio was spotted working out at a public gym — an act that led to him being slammed online.
He was spotted at the YMCA in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, as businesses prepared to close on his advice.
Meanwhile, in March 2019, McCray struggled to explain where the $850 million donated to the mental health program she supports had gone.
The funding was not disclosed in the company’s financial documents — although the program was on track to spend $1 billion over five years.
Bronx City Councilman Ritchie Torres criticized Thrive NYC, saying there was “no evidence it works”.
De Blasio and McCray’s split is the latest in a long line of headline-grabbing moments for the gaffe-prone ex-mayor, including…
Outraged at his soft-spoken take on crime as violence mounted in the Big Apple
In the final years of De Blasio’s tenure, New York’s crime rate skyrocketed.
Robberies were up 39 percent year-on-year in January 2020, shootings were up 29 percent, and auto thefts were up 72 percent.
De Blasio blamed bail reforms for the horrible numbers, but the trend continued in the final year of his rule — overall crime in the Big Apple rose 11.2 percent year-on-year in November 2021.
These included a 16 percent increase in robberies and a 14 percent increase in criminal assaults.
The former mayor once supported bail reform, which he later opposed. They were designed to prevent impoverished people from spending months in jail awaiting trial while other more affluent offenders could enjoy the comforts of home.
This time, the lame mayor blamed the courts for the lack of trial.
The rise of general lawlessness was visible on the city’s streets in the form of violent crime, including horrific attacks on subways and sidewalks that terrified New Yorkers.
De Blasio’s replacement by incumbent mayor Eric Adams in 2022 was widely seen by voters as a response to concerns about rising crime.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DESPITE ZERO APPLICATION
The penultimate mayor of New York City’s affair with White House ambitions made him extremely unpopular at home, as he pursued what critics called a vanity project while ignoring his commitments in the Big Apple.
He entered the presidential race on May 16, 2019 in a crowded field of 28 other Democrats — but dropped out on September 20, 2020.
“I feel like I contributed everything I could to this primary, and it’s clearly not my time,” he told MSNBC’s Morning Joe in announcing his plans to drop the bid.
That comes after he struggled to win more than 1 percent in the polls or raise enough funds — only $333,000 was raised in the first quarter — and he didn’t qualify for September’s debate.
De Blasio blamed his late entry into the campaign for the failure, saying he had a hard time running for office while running America’s largest city.
EMPLOYMENT OF HIS WIFE AND SON
In 2020, it was revealed that de Blasio had hired 14 employees for his unelected wife — at a cost of $2 million a year — ostensibly to meet “the needs of the people of this city.”
The move came as 22,000 jobs in the city were set to be shed due to the pandemic.
Though McCray wasn’t officially employed by the city government, she maintained a core team of eight full-time employees for financially troubled Thrive NYC, which her office said cost the city a total of $1.1 million in annual salaries.
Sources in the mayor’s office said that McCray, who was considering running for Brooklyn borough president at the time, also had at least six other associates who are not on the official list.
This brought their total workforce to 14, which was a whopping $2 million.
De Blasio also employed his newly graduated son Dante as “political analysts” for his 2019 presidential campaign at a salary of $650 a week.
The then 22-year-old Yale University graduate earned just $175 a week less than the campaign’s political director in South Carolina, according to the Federal Election Commission at the time.
ARREST OF DAUGHTER
In June 2020, the couple’s daughter, Chiara, was arrested during a George Floyd protest in Manhattan where protesters clashed with police officers.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter, Chiara (pictured), was reportedly arrested at a George Floyd demonstration in Manhattan on Saturday night
The 25-year-old was taken into custody after officers infiltrated an “unlawful assembly” on 12th Street and Broadway in lower Manhattan.
A police report obtained by said she was among about 100 protesters arrested for refusing to leave the roadway and throwing objects at officers.
De Blasio, who was mayor at the time, told reporters he was “proud” of his daughter for her arrest.
“I love my daughter very much, I honor her,” he said. “She’s such a good person, she just wants to do good in the world, she wants to see a better and more peaceful world.” She believes a lot of change is needed.”