Divorce, Nevada Style: The Saga of Gov. Jim Gibbons

The agreement marks the end of a saga that began in October 2006 when a Las Vegas cocktail waitress claimed that then-Rep. Gibbons shoved her against a parking garage wall and attempted to sexually assault her. His wife supported him during those allegations as the five-term congressman faced a tough gubernatorial election the following month and looked at him adoringly when he was sworn in as the state's 29^th governor.

But rumors soon circulated that their marriage was on the rocks, and his popularity plummeted. In May 2008, the 65-year-old governor filed for divorce, citing incompatibility, and evicted his wife from the governor's mansion, referring to her as an "enraged ferret." His wife of 23 years responded with accusations that the governor was having extramarital affairs with a former Playboy magazine model and another woman with whom he exchanged 860 texts last year. The governor described the relationships as platonic.

The divorce was just a few hours old when Gibbons abruptly fired his campaign adviser for referring to first ladies as "window dressing." Gibbons described the adviser's remarks as sexist and said he did not share that assessment. Facing a tough GOP challenger in a June gubernatorial primary, Gibbons' poll numbers have been rising slowly from their single-digit level of a year ago. His alleged philandering, coupled with calling his wife a "ferret," is thought to have alienated women voters. Gibbons apologized for his adviser's remark, but being associated with a "comment that further infuriates women was just incredible bad timing," according to a Nevada political scientist.

Meanwhile, Dawn Gibbons, a 55-year-old, three-term Nevada assemblywoman, sought advice from two famous victims of philandering governors -- South Carolina's Jenny Sanford and New York's Silda Wall Spitzer. "I know how they feel, but the difference is they both have money," Gibbons told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "It's different when you can get away and can start over."