Spitzer, wife announce 'marital relationship has come to an end'

Eliot Spitzer and his wife, Silda Wall, announced Tuesday that their 26-year marriage has ended.

"We regret that our marital relationship has come to an end and we have agreed not to make any other public statement on this subject," read a joint statement released by Lisa Linden, a spokeswoman for the former governor.

The news came in the wake of reports that Spitzer, 54, who has lived apart from his wife for several months, has been involved in a relationship with Lis Smith, 31, who served as a campaign spokeswoman for Spitzer's bid for city comptroller.

Smith now handles communications for New York mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's transition team. Neither Smith nor de Blasio has said whether she has been under consideration for the post of press secretary after de Blasio takes office next week.

Smith declined to comment, and representatives for the de Blasio campaign didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Spitzer served as governor of New York State for 14 months in 2007 and 2008 before he resigned after admitting to patronizing prostitutes. His wife, 55, stood nearby as he announced he was stepping down.

Before that, he served as state attorney general. The couple have three adult daughters.

After news broke of her relationship with Spitzer, several political colleagues publicly expressed their support for Smith, who also works as a consultant for Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

She lived in Washington, D.C., before moving to Manhattan for Spitzer's campaign and was director of Obama for America's "rapid response" campaign, often engaging in Twitter wars with Republican opponents.