David Sessions

Reporter

Karl Rove Divorces Wife of 24 Years in Texas

Posted:

12/29/09

Filed Under:Republicans, Conservatives

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Karl Rove and his wife Darby have been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, Politico reports. They were married in January 1986.

"Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week," family spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment, and the family requests that its privacy be respected."

A family friend said that the Roves spent Christmas together. They have a 20-year-old son, Andrew Madison Rove, who attends Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Rove was previously married to Valerie Mather Wainwright, a Houston socialite whom he divorced in 1980.

In a rare interview in 2000, Darby Rove described her husband to Politics Daily's editor in chief Melinda Henneberger, then a Washington correspondent for the New York Times, as ''a combination of in-your-face and sensitive.'' Here's an excerpt from the piece, which ran in the New York Times Magazine in May of that year:

"Darby Rove is a graphic artist who worked for her husband's political direct-mail business before they were married, and over a long lunch earlier this spring she was both admiring and bracingly frank about him. She called him a creative genius and a committed father to their 11-year-old son, Andrew, but also said he can be fierce and quite intimidating, even when he's trying not to be.

''He's learned to lay back a little bit when he and Andrew play chess,'' she told me, ''but even in croquet he'd be hitting my ball so far I was crying on vacation.'' It isn't only that he's always working, she said, but that working for Republicans is the organizing principle of his life, at the center of his world, which he tends to divide into friends and foes. ''I told Karl the other day,'' she said, ''You see things in black and white. I see lots of gray.' ''

"Rove does have a softer side; when I mentioned how much I had liked his wife, who has had a long battle with breast cancer, his eyes filled with tears. ''She is one of the most courageous people I know,'' he said.''

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David Sessions

David Sessions is a journalist based in New York who covers politics, religion, and the arts. He is the founding editor of patrolmag.com. ...more

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Comments (137)

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moderate

2:24PM Dec 29th 2009

Multiple marriages for the party of family values, lol you gotta love the faux christian hypocrisy.

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(-2)

garry

2:44PM Dec 29th 2009

Moderate, that means he is available for you.

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(-9)

Gina

2:46PM Dec 29th 2009

Seriously, doesn't he always spout off about the sanctity of marriage? That is his reason for not wanting gay marriage. The whole the institute of marriage would be under attack by gay marriage and here he is a two time divorcee. All of those gay bashers say the same thing. They talk about how marriage is as old as humans and needs to be protected. Protected from whom? I guess marriage is only pure if straight people are getting married and divorced but somehow gay people would ruin it.

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(-23)

parodoxing

3:28PM Dec 29th 2009

SHE BECAME A LIBERAL,CAN YOU BLAME HIM.

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(-39)

john black

3:32PM Dec 29th 2009

If he lied to her like he lied to America there is no wonder why she left.

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(-27)

Old Engineer

4:07PM Dec 29th 2009

Have a bit of human compassion. Divorce is a great heartache I would not wish even upon an enemy.

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(3)

Old Engineer

6:59PM Dec 29th 2009

A little human compassion from the sensitive, caring left might be in order. Please. Divorce is a personal heartache of intensity so deep I would not wish it on an enemy.

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(17)

Dave

8:24PM Dec 29th 2009

If you had any idea of the stress positions of power put on any couple no matter what the value system and the sacrifice the spouse must go through you wouldn't make stupid comments about the party of family values. Our guys don't get BJ's from interns in the Oval Office. Get back to your window the people are waiting for their food.

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(1)

moderate

9:17PM Dec 29th 2009

Really Dave, so I guess trolling public bthrms for homosexual sex like craig, Or Sanford taking a cross continent booty call on the tax payers dime is ok . BJ's dave, well gingrinch the mouthpeice for the moral majority was having an affair and serving his wife divorce papers in the hospital while he was calling down wrath for a BJ. Lets also not forget it was foley who sext minor(males) and sent pictures of his boners to these same boys. He was also protected for 2 years by your faux family values partisan hacks. HYPOCRITES all.

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(37)

HELLO SUSIE !

7:14AM Dec 30th 2009

I rather believe that SHE divorced him.

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(30)

kevin

7:20AM Dec 30th 2009

it is ok for the far right or gop to have affairs or
get divoroced. oh and commit insider trading but not
for anyone else

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(16)

Jordon

9:00AM Dec 30th 2009

SO A DIVORCE IS ONLY FOR YOU STUPID LIBS. UNHAPPY MARRIAGES ARE EVERYWHERE.

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(-13)

HissyMissy

10:31AM Dec 30th 2009

Dave
8:24PM Dec 29th 2009
you wouldn't make stupid comments about the party of family values. Our guys don't get BJ's from interns in the Oval Office.

No your republican senators get spankings from their prostitute dominatrix's while wearing dog collars and sucking on pacifiers while getting their kicks in their DIAPERS - can anyone say Senator David Vitter. And your republican senators abandon their state for seven days to go have outsourced sex with their argentina concubine - can anyone say Senator Mark Sanford and let's not forget Senator John Ensign who got caught with his pants around his ankles Would you like me to continue with your phony party of family values?

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(21)

Laurie

11:13AM Dec 30th 2009

yep, says it all...

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(5)

randy822

11:16AM Dec 30th 2009

Rather that "Christian Hypocrisy" it's more just being human and prone to error and sin which is why we have God's forgiveness and Grace. Even you have access to that if you want!

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(4)

dsamg2002

12:57PM Dec 30th 2009

Another sanctity of marriage shows he has no respect for that sanctity. Probably another republican triing to cover up his sinful desires. Typical two faced rightwinger sets one set of rules for others and a different one for himself. Is he not the man who criticized Sotamayer, saying that the appointment of a justice is very critical and should not be taken lightly...forgetting of course that He and W wanted the cleaning lady from down the hall?! You republicans are so sad it is almost a shame to laugh at you...almost.

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(2)

Roger

1:04PM Dec 30th 2009

Well said, moderate! One less loser in Darby's life.

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(0)

reubecsmom

1:29PM Dec 30th 2009

I don't recall him claiming to be a Christian! All Christians are not Reps. and all Reps. are not Christian.

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(2)

tunes

8:37PM Dec 30th 2009

I don't ever remember him saying that he was a christian.So how could he have "faux"valuesResearch before you comment

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(0)

Marvall03

1:55PM Dec 30th 2009

The Roves have Class ...clearly the "sniping" ones here have no idea what that is. Do Libs even bother to marry these days, what with worry about "global warming", "man-caused-disasters" and supporting their "clue-less" jerk in the WH?. None of us may be here much longer, what with the total lack of national security and the decision to import the most dangerous terrorists from Quantanimo to NYC... those are Real concern, not the Rove's private matters.

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(1)

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