Huma Abedin And Anthony Weiner Are Separating

Huma Abedin, a top aide to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton , announced Monday that she is separating from her husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin said in a statement  first reported by NBC News. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”

Abedin’s announcement comes after the New York Post reported Weiner sent photos of his crotch to another woman , including an image that featured the couple’s son. Weiner deleted his Twitter account on Monday.

Weiner famously resigned from Congress in June 2011 after it was revealed he had sent sexually explicit photos to several women over Facebook and Twitter. Weiner went on to run in the 2013 New York City mayoral race , but his campaign was tarnished when news of another sexting scandal emerged.

Abedin stood by Weiner as he apologized for that scandal in a 2013 press conference . Weiner ultimately lost the Democratic primary race to Bill de Blasio.

Weiner began writing columns for Business Insider in 2014, and was hired  to the advisory board of New York-based crisis communications firm MWW in July 2015. Abedin has worked for Clinton for two decades. 

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump  said in a statement that he thinks Abedin is “making a very wise decision .”

“I know Anthony Weiner well, and she will be far better off without him,” Trump said. 

“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information,” he continued. “Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.”

This article has been updated with Donald Trump’s response to the separation.

Listen to Weiner talk about his mayoral race on “Candidate Confessional”: