Say it ain't true! Al and Tipper to separate

I remember Tipper Gore appearing on Phil Donahue's television show years ago after having a baby and shedding 65 pounds of "baby fat." Toned and shaped, she had a large framed photo of herself that she had given to her husband on his birthday, a photo of her newly-skinny self. (Phil Donahue was the premier daytime talk show host until Oprah Winfree came on the scene.)

Today's news that the Gores are separating is kind of a surprise since they've made it 40 years. Why split now? After all, with a number of houses and all that money, why not just live separate lives but stay together? Unless one of them has found someone else....

I don't agree with Al Gore's politics ... I definitely don't agree with his global warming misinformation and his hypocrisy regarding that ... but it's sad to see two people stay together so long and then call it quits.

The New York Times printed the email sent by the Gores to friends:

“We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought 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.”

They have four grown children.