New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has found him engulfed in two scandals: one over his disastrous nursing home policies that resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 residents, the other being the number of mounting sexual assault allegations lobbed against him. It looks like things just took another turn for the worst, as least as far as Cuomo is concerned.
Journalist Michael Shnayerson, the author of a biography on Cuomo, penned an opinion piece in Vanity Fair about the governor's behavior. According to Shnayerson, Cuomo likes being in trouble and tends to manipulate his staff against each other. He's known for going to great lengths to win his fight, just like his father, former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo, did. But the biggest surprise is that the governor allegedly beat his wife.
From Vanity Fair (emphasis mine):
Around the end of his time at HUD, in 2001, his wife, Kerry, wanted out. Her problems with her husband were strictly personal. He hadn’t done the modest things she had asked of him as the father of their daughters: visiting their schools, for one; reading a book on parenting, for another. “Kerry was done being ridiculed and belittled,” said someone close to the couple. “Either Andrew would work on the marriage or he wouldn’t, and the two would divorce.”
The next year Cuomo ran for governor. He was unsuccessful. And immediately after he dropped out of the primary, Kerry demanded a divorce.They were living separate lives, but for six months Andrew refused to leave the house or respond to her lawyers. On more than one night during that period, Kerry slept in a locked bathroom, according to a source close to the family, who recounted instances of physical abuse. “I’ve been a human rights activist, and for women who have abusive husbands,” Kerry told a friend, “and here I am enduring this abuse.”
Even though the divorce was "amicable," Cuomo allegedly went out of his way to hurt Kennedy. According to Shnayerson's sources, Cuomo told the press Kennedy had an affair with "a Republican polo player.
He apparently did other things to make her life more complicated, like not making Christmas plans until early December, which ultimately ruined his ex-wife's plans as well.
Naturally, a Cuomo spokesperson denied the claims, saying it was "tabloid fodder" when the divorce took place all those years ago.
“The divorce was over 15 years ago and was tabloid fodder for weeks with all sorts of untrue rumors circulating. Time has proven them all false. Andrew is a great father, and his daughters will be the first to say that Kerry and Andrew have been great co-parents—and time showed those who spread the rumors? were actually the problem," the spokesperson told Vanity Fair.
As it currently stands, seven women have claimed Cuomo sexually harassed them. The latest one made her allegations public on Friday night. A growing number of politicians in the Democratic Party have called on the governor to resign, something he has repeatedly refused to do. New York Sens. Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) finally came around to joining the calls for Cuomo's resignation after the seventh accuser came forward.