During a transition period, Villaraigosa will return to the couple's Mount Washington home while his wife, Corina, and their children will continue to live at Getty House, the official mayoral residence just outside Hancock Park.
"Each of us loves our children more than anything in the world, and we are committed to working together for their benefit," the mayor said in a statement.Villaraigosa and wife Corina formed their surname through a combination of his name, Villar, and hers, Raigosa. The couple has two two teenagers - Antonio Jr. and Natalie Fe.
Mayor Villaraigosa also has two adult children from a previous relationship.
The announcement ends months of speculation that had surfaced earlier this year when Villaraigosa was seen at public events without his gold wedding band. He had previously hinted at difficulties, telling interviewers that "in a 20-year marriage, there are ups and downs."
He also has said he has been trying to find more balance in his life between the pressures of the job and demands of a family.
In separating, the Latino couple becomes the latest high-profile marriage to suffer in Los Angeles' political climate.
The strife between the city's first Black mayor, the legendary Kappa Fraternity man Tom Bradley and his wife, Ethel, was an open secret among City Hall regulars.Former Mayor James Hahn and his wife, Monica, separated during his term as mayor and later divorced.
The ex-Mrs Hahn was rumored to have fallen in love with another woman.
His predecessor, Richard Riordan, married recently divorced Nancy Daly while he was in office, but the couple announced last month that they were separating.
The toll of the mayoral post has not been limited to L.A.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom divorced his wife, ex-prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is now a television commentator who has since remarried and has a infant boy.
And former New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani and his second wife separated in 2000, when he moved the woman who would later become his third wife into the official mayoral residence.
Now that's some cold mess. No wonder Guiliani's kids still kick the Republican presidential front-runner to the curb. And he's going to be the poster boy for conservative family values???
With Antonio's future gubernatorial aspirations, at least he recognizes the importance of showing some class.
