DENVER| Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says he and his wife have decided to separate after 10 years of marriage.
The governor issued a statement Tuesday saying he and wife Helen Thorpe still plan to see each other and attend social events together. Meanwhile, he will move into the governor’s mansion, and his family will continue to live at their home in Denver, he said.
Hickenlooper didn’t give a reason for the separation but said he and his wife sought marital counseling before making their decision. Hickenlooper said the joint statement will be his only comment.
“This decision is mutual and amicable. We continue to have the utmost respect for each other, and we remain close friends. We intend to continue functioning as a family that spends a great deal of time together,” Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper said he and his wife want the public to know “that neither has had an affair” and the decision is unrelated to the difficult events Colorado has faced this summer, an apparent reference to stress caused by the wildfires that have ravaged parts of the state and the July 20 shooting at a movie theater that killed 12 people and injured 58.
The governor said the chief concern now is caring for their young son, Teddy. He said the family will share meals often, and they plan to spend holidays together.
Hickenlooper is a former geologist, brewpub magnate and Denver mayor who was credited for shepherding the successful 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. He was elected the state’s governor in 2010.
The governor is on many pundits’ short-list of possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidates. He has become popular in Colorado while cultivating an offbeat, nonpartisan image and starring in some unusual political spots.
Hickenlooper was filmed skydiving from an airplane to promote a ballot measure letting state government increase spending, and he aired an ad in the 2010 governor’s race showing him washing off negative ads while fully clothed in a shower.
Thorpe’s official biography from the National Governors Association notes her work as a freelance journalist whose magazine stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine and George. She also worked as a writer for The New York Observer and The New Yorker, where she wrote “Talk of the Town” stories.
She also wrote a book, “Just Like Us,” about the lives of four girls of Mexican heritage growing up in Denver.
According to the biography, Thorpe was born in London and grew up in Medford, N.J.
She has served on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, the Clayton Foundation and the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which focuses on ensuring the success of children.
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Online:
NGA Biography: https://bit.ly/R4GZcV