U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and his wife Cathy Holahan are separating after almost two decades of marriage, his office confirmed on Friday.
The couple said the decision was made jointly on amicable terms and that they will co-parent their two teenage sons together going forward.
The news comes less than two weeks after Murphy easily won a third term to the U.S. Senate. He appeared with Holahan and their sons at Dunkin’ Donuts ballpark in Hartford to celebrate his victory at an election night party. The Hartford Courant first reported the news of the separation Friday.
“Chris and Cathy recently made the joint decision to separate amicably. They do so with deep care and respect for each other and a commitment to remain friends and loving co-parents to their sons. They ask for privacy as their family navigates this new chapter,” Murphy spokesperson Rebecca Drago said in a statement.
The couple sent an email to their family and friends on Friday explaining their decision to split up after 20 years together, noting the multiple moves they have made around Connecticut and to Washington, D.C., the individual careers they both built, and the family they created.
“With the election behind us — our seventh together — we have some news we wanted to share with you,” they wrote in the email obtained by the Connecticut Mirror. “After much reflection and discussion, we have decided to separate as a couple. We do so with deep care and respect for each other, and with a focus on continuing to be friends and loving, collaborative parents to our boys whom we adore.”
“This was a difficult decision, but we believe that it is right for us, and we are going to move onto this new path the right way,” they wrote. “We will continue to support each other personally and professionally. And we hope you all will stay connected with both of us.”
Murphy and Holahan were married in 2007 and have two sons, Owen and Rider. They met each other at the University of Connecticut School of Law where they both earned law degrees.
When they got married, Murphy was serving as a first-term congressman in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District. After a few terms in the House, he then ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and has been serving in that role since.
Murphy has been serving in elected office since 1999, first starting out as a member of Connecticut’s House of Representatives.
Holahan is listed as a principal attorney for Education Counsel in Washington D.C. website. According to her profile page, she provides legal, policy, and strategic planning support to organizations on education policy.
At the time of their marriage, she worked as a lawyer for Connecticut Legal Services with a focus on child advocacy law, according to The New York Times. She has also worked as a law clerk for a chief justice on the Connecticut Appellate Court and as a French teacher in Baton Rouge, La., through the Teach for America program.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
