Al and Tipper Gore decide to separate
The Gores, shown here at President Obama's inauguration, have decided to separate after 40 years of marriage. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/File)
(CNN) - Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have sent an e-mail to family friends announcing a mutual decision to separate, a longtime family friend told CNN.
"We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought and discussion, we have decided to separate," the message said. "This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration. We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further."
Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider confirmed the authenticity of the e-mail but declined to comment further.
The couple, married for 40 years, has four grown children and three grandchildren.
Al and Tipper Gore's dramatic kiss on the podium of the Democratic National Convention in 2000 was credited for giving him a more human image in his presidential run.
"The sheer carnality of the kiss - the-can't-wait-to-get-back-to-the-hotel-room urgency, the sexual electricity flowing south - was riveting," Time magazine's Lance Morrow wrote at the time.
CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger described the kiss as "one of the most memorable moments of the campaign."
"For those of us who have watched political couples over the years this is sad," Borger said. "They are a genuine couple."
Since losing the 2000 presidential race, the former vice president has been active in environmental causes, but he has also pursued business interests.
He co-founded Generation Investment Management, a company that promotes "a new approach to sustainable investing." Gore is also the chairman of Current TV, a cable and satellite television network he co-founded. He also serves as a director for Google and Apple Computer.
His best-selling book about global warming - "An Inconvenient Truth" - was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary film.
After leaving Washington and returning to Nashville, Tennessee, Tipper Gore considered but decided against a run for a U.S. Senate seat in her home state in 2002.
Read the full e-mail below:
Hi,We wanted to share this personal news with you because we care so much about you as a friend:
We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought and discussion, we have decided to separate.
This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration.
We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further.
Hope to see you soon.
- Al and Tipper
Updated: 2:38 p.m.
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40 years...that was quite a run! Wishing them both the best...
And it's none of our business.
Wow, that caught me by surprise–but then I always wondered how she could stand him. He's a pompous hypocrite.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving couple. Oops, forgot about the Clintoons.
As Mr. Gore himself once said:
"There is no controlling legal authority..."
Not a surprise, even his wife can not stand Al Gore, just like the rest of us.
If they had the same mutual respect for each other
as Bill and Hillary have, things may have worked out.
You never saw Bill or Hillary show anything but love
and admiration for each other. Bill and Hillary were
like Beaver Clever's parents. Never anything bad enough
to pull them apart.
Apparently, Al Gore released too many "GREENHOUSE GASES" at night
I bet the guy in the cubicle next to me that at least half of the comments here would be mean spirited cheap shots.
I thought Republicans were mostly Christian. Try treating people the way you would like to be treated.
This is sad news for me, but wish them both all the best.
There is NOTHING funny about marriages falling apart, especiallyl after so many years and children in the picture. This is a gut-wrenching situation for the family and to make immature comments about him or her is unnecessary. Nobody deserves this and all you can do is hope you are not the next long term marriage falling apart. No matter what it is sad and the ones who hurt the most are the children regardless of their ages.
No surprise here. Monogamy was an invention by religion. It just doesn't work. Let's go back to the days of bonking women over the head with a club and taking them back to the cave.
This is really sad. And who would want to start over at that stage in life? We will probably never know why they split but to me it shows a lack of character to just walk away instead of trying to make it work. It really is a portrait of our current society where anything that gets difficult is an excuse to just walk away.
Who care? It is their private,
smart woman
This is a surprise to me. Sorry to hear the news. The best to both of them and may they find the right path for themselves.
Mike, Dallas....I agree with your post. Thank you.
I guess the marriage certificate never found its way to the lock box.
Good for Tipper to dump this demented ego maniac while she still has life left in her!
No global warming at the Gore compound. Just cooling.
I would enjoy seeing the faces of all the idiot republicans that still dont believe the global warming problem exits when this really starts to be a problem.
Typical of all the head in the sand looney right wingers despite the vast majority of scientists who have endorsed the studies.
Hope they dont have too much 'skiing' gear.........
Sometimes people grow so far apart that there is nothing to hold them together any longer. Their children are all grown up and gone and have their own lives. They seem to be handling this with dignity and I wish both of themthe best.
Wow - how sad. Hope they manage to work through their issues - 40 years is a long time.....
Regardless, there is a study showing resource use goes up 61% when a family splits (e.g. two separate kitchens, two separate laundry rooms, two separate water heaters, etc). Al Gore should reconcile with his wife ASAP *if only* to practice what he preaches on climate.
this IS sad..and once again the public is told about another break up. who the hell cares.??
Really sad. Noone knows what happens in a marriage. I have only been married for 7. My parents were married 53 years up to my mothers death. My father remains married to her even if she has been gone for 10 years. After so many years, work it out. Just work it out. You have a history.
Blame it on Bill Clinton..
Ever since Al Gire start hanging out with him in NYC, they've been spotted in several places they have no business been at night.