Mark Sanford, with his wife, Jenny, and their four sons, takes the oath of office in January 2007 after his reelection as South Carolina governor. Their divorce followed his admission in 2009 of an affair with an Argentine woman. (Mary Ann Chastain / Associated Press)
Tipper Gore greets former Vice President Al Gore at the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2004. Their June 2010 announcement that they were splitting up after 40 years surprised even close friends. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and wife Elizabeth arrive for the memorial service for Sen. Edward Kennedy in Boston on Aug. 28, 2009. The couple separated early in 2010 after it became known that he’d fathered a child in an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter. Elizabeth died of breast cancer in December 2010. (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press)