Divorce final, details kept secret

It's official: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife Jenny are now divorced, but the public won't be able to see the details behind their split.

Family Court Judge Jocelyn Cate issued her ruling in the divorce Thursday afternoon, three weeks after Jenny Sanford appeared in her courtroom and testified about her husband's infidelity.

Cate also agreed to seal the financial declarations and the separation and property settlement agreement, which the first lady had asked the judge to do for the sake of the couple's four sons.

"More information for children to talk about at school is not what they need at this point," she told Cate during the Feb. 26 hearing.

Cate's ruling said the financial and settlement details "have no public or professional significance and will not enhance the public's understanding of an important historical event. ... If these documents were disclosed to the public, not only the parties, but also the children of the parties may be harmed."

Last month, Cate said she would grant the Sanfords' divorce on the grounds of infidelity, but she noted it would not become official until at least 90 days had passed since Jenny Sanford filed for divorce on Dec. 11.

The governor, who didn't attend last month's hearing in Charleston, declined comment Thursday through his spokesman.

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He previously said he takes full responsibility for the split, calling his wife "a great person ... (who) has been a remarkable wife, mother and first lady."

The divorce decree closes the book on a 20-year marriage and a political partnership that sent Sanford to Congress for six years, then into the governor's mansion for eight more and then briefly into the early whispering stage of a possible presidential bid.

But when the governor was spotted in the Atlanta airport on June 24 after a five-day absence, the public learned what his wife had known for six months -- that Sanford had been having an extramarital affair with a woman from Argentina.

As they worked to reconcile early last year, they agreed Sanford wouldn't contact the other woman, Maria Belen Chapur. He did.

Jenny Sanford, who has been promoting her memoir about the affair, "Staying True," also declined further comment Thursday.

After her hearing, she said the divorce is the beginning of a new chapter for her and her children.

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"Our family will be in a different shape," she said, "but there's no reason in the world why we can't raise our boys to be the best they can be."

The first lady recently finished a book tour promoting "Staying True," her account of the couple's marriage and its unraveling.

Sanford is the state's first sitting governor to divorce.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.