Andrew Cuomo decided to end his 13-year marriage to Kerry Kennedy Cuomo after learning she was having an extramarital affair, The Post has learned.
“She broke his heart – he’s devastated,” a friend of Cuomo’s said yesterday.
Sources revealed details of Kerry’s cheating and the couple’s struggle to keep their failing union together the day after Cuomo’s lawyer publicly charged that Kerry “betrayed” Andrew during their marriage.
The statement about Kerry’s conduct by Andrew’s lawyer, Harriet Newman Cohen, sparked outrage yesterday from people who charged that Cuomo and his lawyer were trashing his wife.
Cuomo, son of ex-Gov. Mario Cuomo, and Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, announced their separation Monday.
Kerry is “definitely” involved with another man, and Andrew knows who he is, said sources close to Cuomo.
Andrew found out about his wife and the other man while the affair was still raging, the sources said.
Andrew and Kerry, who have three young daughters and live in upstate Bedford, then agreed to work on their marriage. But her affair continued, according to the sources.
The 1990 Cuomo-Kennedy marriage united two of the country’s most powerful Democratic political families.
Kerry, a human-rights activist, was at her husband’s side throughout his failed gubernatorial run last year.
“This has been in the works for months. They were trying to work it out,” said another source close to Cuomo. “It’s a question of human frailty. Being married in this day and age is not an easy thing, and this is proof of that.”
Things “clearly worsened in recent weeks,” said an insider, “after a period of trying to work things out.”
Kerry’s lawyer, William Zabel, refused to respond to questions about the possibility of another man.
Zabel’s associate, Dick Auletta, returned calls seeking comment and said, when asked about another man: “She’s made the only statement she’s going to make.”
When Robert Kennedy Jr., who issued the original announcement that the couple was separating, was asked if the pending divorce has anything to do with his sister being involved with another man, he replied “no comment.”
The announcement of the breakup of the marriage quickly turned ugly yesterday shortly after they released a statement agreed to by both sides.
Kerry’s lawyer then put out a separate statement – one that Andrew believed violated their initial agreement.
Kerry’s statement indicated she was seeking the divorce and, Cuomo believed, gave the impression that he was to blame for the split.
Through his lawyer, Andrew put out a scathing statement of his own.
The blunt wording – “Mr. Cuomo was betrayed and saddened by his wife’s conduct during their marriage. . .” – raised eyebrows around the state yesterday.
“My initial reaction was ‘I just don’t understand it,’ ” said Senate Minority Leader David Paterson (D-Manhattan). “That is a very sad kind of thing.”
“I think it’s very bad for him politically because the marriage itself is so political,” observed another political insider who is no friend of Cuomo’s. “[During his run for office] He didn’t give a stump speech without talking about his wife and the Kennedy connection.”
Even Donald Trump, who’s no stranger to divorce court, was surprised by Andrew’s tone.
“I thought it was a terrible statement,” Trump said. “If it didn’t work, you get out. You say we both love each other, it’s wonderful, but we’re going our separate ways.
“I mean, he really seems to be taking it very hard. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a statement like that from somebody, he’s almost accusing her of infidelity . . . he’s really much better off getting on with life.”