Tipper Gore and Al Gore separate after 40 years of marriage

Al and Tipper Gore's wedding photo

Shocking news: Tipper Gore and her husband former Vice President Al Gore announced Tuesday they've separated after 40 years of marriage.

According to The Associated Press, Tipper Gore and Al Gore said it was "a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration."

Fortunately, there was no affair or sex scandal involved; the Gores said they just grew apart after 40 years of being together. They "carved out separate lives" over time.

What's interesting about those statements is that not all parts of the Gores lives have been separate. Aside from their marriage, the Al Gore website has a prominent link to Tipper Gore's photography. Will the link remain after their separation? Was it really necessary to split? And after 40 years together? A romance that goes all the way back to high school.

Over.

Blogger Rod Dreher has a take I kind of agree with. At Belief.net Rod observes that fame caused the split, saying "it seems that the failure of their marriage could be the cost of being a famous public figure. If Al is on the road here, there and everywhere, he's not at home being a husband."

But where I differ is in the observation that Tipper Gore had her own photography business. She too was busy. But where things may have really went South was the fact that Al Gore continued to be famous for being Al Gore, where Tipper may have wanted to carve a path outside of Al's considerable shadow.

It's a pattern I've seen with wives of elected officials who are themselves smart and ambitious. They seem to want a spotlight equal to that of their mates; why that leads to marital discourse is beyond me, but it's certainly a pattern.

It will be interesting to see how Tipper Gore without Al Gore evolves.

Stay tuned.