Move over, Will and Jada. It looks like New York City may have its own polyamorous power couple – former mayor Bill de Blasio and former first lady Chirlane McCray, who have been doing things their way for nearly three decades.
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The couple, who share two adult children, entered a conscious uncoupling last July, announcing their separation after nearly 30 years of marriage. They raised eyebrows in an interview with The New York Times, revealing they would continue living together in their Brooklyn home while dating other people—which is understandable considering But NYC’s first biracial first couple has never been afraid of being unconventional.
McCray, who is six years older than de Blasio, identified as a lesbian when they met while working for New York City’s first Black mayor, David Dinkins. But she says she couldn’t resist the six-foot-five de Blasio’s game.
“He was very easy to fall in love with,” McCray told The New York Times.
But after years of living and raising children together, the stress of politics – running one of the largest cities in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2020 – was just too much for their marriage.
“Everything was this overwhelming schedule, this sort of series of tasks,” de Blasio told the Times. “And that kind of took away a little bit of our soul.”
McCray hasn’t been publicly linked to any new suitors since the separation. But de Blasio has been doing his thing in these NYC streets. In September 2023, the 62-year-old was spotted out at the Empire Rooftop bar in Manhattan getting up close and personal with an unidentified woman. He’s also been seen with 42-year-old Kristy Stark, founder of education and literacy company MindsEmerge – who, according to her husband, is still married.
But even with all of that, de Blasio still makes time for his day one. The two recently had a date night at the star-studded “A Celebration of Life” event for Harry Belafonte at Riverside Church in NYC last week.
Although they don’t know what the future will hold, McCray and de Blasio told The New York Times that they’re happier than they’ve been in a long time with their new found freedom.
“One of the things we’re saying to the world is we don’t need to possess each other,” de Blasio said.
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