De Blasio’s Wife Spotted For Lunch With Friend
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his estranged wife Chirlane McCray recently made headlines in their decision to not divorce following 27 years of marriage but to start seeing other people while still living together.
The 68-year-old McCray was spotted in Brooklyn Tuesday, lunching with her friend Karen Baicker, 62, and publisher at Scholastic, for the first time since their cringe-worthy separation announcement from de Blasio.
McCray left Bar ToTo with a to-go box of food and wore a brown-patterned blouse with blue jeans and black sneakers while her companion, Baicker, sported a white skirt, open-toed shoes, and a green raincoat. The smiling friends hugged as they went their separate ways following the lunchtime rendezvous.
In an emotional 1979 essay, McCray wrote, “I survived the tears, the isolation, and the feeling that something was terribly wrong with me for loving another woman.” McCray identified as gay before she met de Blasio and never described her sexuality in any other way.
The couple linked arms and became one of the most high-profile bi-racial couples in American politics in 1994 when they tied the knot, and McCray was supportive of de Blasio’s progressive campaign for the mayorship in 2014.
During the New York Times interview, the couple attributed a variety of causes for their split, from Covid to the pressure of her previously-declared homosexuality, to de Blasio’s dalliance with a 2020 long-shot run for the White House.
De Blasio also spoke of his recent decision to start dyeing his hair and his desire to continue being a “public people.”
McCray added that she and de Blasio are still “very much in love” and hope to be a model for how couples can communicate, emphasizing that their family comes first.
The couple is parents to daughter Chiara, 25, and son Dante, 26, and are still going to live together in Brooklyn while seeing other people.
The couple has made headlines in recent years amid financial scandals, including de Blasio being fined almost $475,000 last month for misusing his personal police detail during his failed 2020 presidential bid - a punishment which de Blasio has appealed.
The couple’s decision to split comes two months ago, after yet another stale Saturday night of binge-watching television set in motion de Blasio's question: “Why aren't you lovey-dovey anymore?”
Now, four years on, the pair determined they would part ways that very same evening but would remain committed to making their separation "successful well into the future."
The former mayor and McCray hope the path they have chosen will be an example to all couples going through similar transitions.