- Bill de Blasio, 62, was seen strolling through Manhattan on Wednesday hand in hand with Kristy Stark, a 42-year-old behavioral scientist from Michigan
- Stark's husband Owen, father of her two children, denied that she was his “ex-wife”: when she said they were getting a divorce, he said he hadn't seen any papers
- “She has denied any kind of infidelity in the past,” he said. “If she has something to say to me, she will tell me.”
Bill de Blasio was seen walking hand in hand with a Michigan woman – whose husband said they were still married.
The former New York mayor spent the day strolling through Manhattan with Kristy Stark, a 42-year-old behavioral scientist and mother of two.
But Stark's husband Owen said he had no idea his wife was spending time with de Blasio, 62 – and he was “not informed” that she had filed for divorce.
Owen Stark, a radiologist, was asked by the New York Post if Kristy Stark was his ex-wife and replied, “No, that's my wife.”
He said they had been married for 12 years.
Bill de Blasio, who stepped down as mayor of New York City at the end of 2021, announced in July that he was separating from his wife of 30 years, Chirlane McCray
Kristy Stark is seen with her husband Owen in a photo from March 2013. On Thursday he said she was not his “ex-wife”
“I don’t know anything about my wife holding hands with Bill de Blasio,” he told the newspaper, adding sarcastically: “Sounds wonderful.”
He said he would talk to her to understand what was going on.
“She has denied any kind of infidelity in the past,” he said. “If she has something to say to me, she will tell me.”
Kristy Stark later texted the New York Post to say that she and her husband were “in the process of getting a divorce.”
He then told the newspaper: “I have not seen any legal notice and have not been made aware of anything of the sort.” “You know as much or more than I do at this point.”
Kristy Stark, an MIT graduate with a master's degree in education from Harvard, is the founder and CEO of MindsEmerge, an education and literacy company based in Michigan.
It is unknown how she and the former mayor met.
Stark graduated from MIT and then earned a master's degree in education from Harvard
Stark says on LinkedIn that her company is “a social behavioral design company that leverages the science of early brain development to create effective, playful educational tools.”
A year ago, Stark founded her own company, MindsEmerge
De Blasio taught leadership at Harvard in fall 2022 and is listed as one of the “Experts and Advisors” on the MindsEmerge website.
Last month, it was announced that he would join the faculty of the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy in winter 2024.
The university is located in Ann Arbor, where the Starks have a home.
De Blasio has not commented on his relationship with her.
The father of two announced in July this year that he and his wife of 30 years, Chirlane McCray, were separating.
They said they had no intention of getting a divorce but would see other people.
Since then, he has been spotted with several women in bars across the city. McCray's romantic life was more discreet.