Feb 2, 2007 1:00 pm US/Eastern
Gay Former N.J. Governor Files To Divorce Wife
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ―
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Former Gov. James E. McGreevey, D-N.J. (File)
The nation's first openly gay governor filed for divorce Friday from his wife of seven years.
Lawyers for James E. McGreevey filed a two-page document in Union County Superior Court in Elizabeth seeking to dissolve his union with Dina Matos McGreevey. A spokeswoman for Union County Superior Court, Sandra Thaler-Gerber, confirmed receiving the filing Friday.
The two have lived apart since November 2004, when McGreevey resigned following a stunning public announcement that he was "a gay American" who had had an affair with a male staffer.
"It's a sad day for everyone," McGreevey told The Associated Press Friday. "It is something that had to be done. We are blessed with a wonderful daughter who remains our focus."
McGreevey has been married twice. He has a 14-year-old daughter, Morag, from his first marriage, which also ended in divorce.
The staffer with whom McGreevey acknowledged having an affair, homeland security adviser Golan Cipel, has denied being gay and said McGreevey sexually harassed him. McGreevey said Cipel tried to blackmail him and that he resigned rather than succumb to the man's threats.
Matos McGreevey, who stood at her husband's side as he told the world he was gay, now lives in Springfield with the couple's 5-year-old daughter, Jacqueline.
Neither she nor her lawyer returned requests for comment Friday.
She has 35 days to answer her husband's filing or file a counterclaim.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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