MANHATTAN — Just days after news broke about an affair between Eliot Spitzer and his former campaign spokeswoman — now a press aide for Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio — the ex-governor's marriage is officially over.
Spitzer announced on Christmas Eve that his 26-year marriage to Silda Wall Spitzer has ended, more than five years after a prostitution scandal that branded him "Client No. 9" forced his resignation from the governor's office, according to reports.
"We regret that our marital relationship has come to an end," the couple announced jointly through spokeswoman Lisa Linden.
"We have agreed not to make any other public statement on this subject," their brief statement said.
The 54-year-old Spitzer, who has three children, reportedly has been romantically involved with Lis Smith, 31, a spokeswoman for his recent unsuccessful bid for the city comptroller's office. Smith, who became communications director for de Blasio's mayoral campaign after Spitzer lost in the Democratic primary and is now part of de Blaiso's transition team, had been considered a front-runner to become the new mayor's press secretary.
De Blasio, however, wouldn't disclose whether he would hire her.
“I respect Lis as a professional, but I also respect her right to privacy,” de Blasio told reporters at a news conference on Monday. “So I’m not going to get any further into it.”
Smith — who is single — has not appeared at de Blasio's events since Sunday's reports about her relationship with Spitzer.
Silda Wall Spitzer, a corporate lawyer who famously stood by her husband when he announced he was stepping down from the governor's office, was conspicuously absent from Eliot Spitzer's campaign trail during his bid for comptroller.
