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Berlusconi's Wife Seeks Divorce

Fed up with husband's outrageous behavior.

Really, she was a hero for lasting this long in the first place: Veronica Lario, wife of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, wants a divorce after nearly 19 years of marriage, according to several Italian papers. The duo has had a strained relationship for many years. Before the current showdown, Veronica criticized her husband for flirting with younger women in a letter published in a newspaper. The president has asked for privacy during this difficult time, saying, "This is a strictly personal matter." Last week Veronica had said the wave of beautiful starlets her husband was considering bringing into Italian politics was a "shamelessly trashy process." In an email to an Italian news organization, Veronica derisively referred to her husband as the "emperor," adding, "What's happening today [in Italy] behind a front of bodily curves and female beauty is grave."