Luke & Erin Ravenstahl's Statements on Separation

The following e-mail arrived tonight from the mayor's office:


(PITTSBURGH) November 23, 2009

Today, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Erin Ravenstahl issued the following statements:

Mayor Ravenstahl:

“For some time, like many couples, Erin and I have been working hard to build a successful marriage and have faced the challenges associated with that. Sadly, Erin and I have decided that it is in our family’s best interest to formally separate.

As public people, we recognize that we must share this information. We have strived to work through our challenges and to do so as privately as possible. However, now reaching the decision to formally separate, we felt we should let Pittsburgh know.

Erin and I are now focused on continuing to enjoy a relationship, albeit a very different one, for the continuity and benefit of everyone involved, most importantly, our son Cooper. Our relationship is, and will continue to be, amicable.

We do not know what the future will hold for us. We have no immediate plans to pursue a formal divorce. We simply ask that Pittsburgh understand and respect our family’s privacy as we deal with this very personal matter.”

Erin Ravenstahl:

“Luke and I have made the very difficult decision to formally separate. I am a private person, so sharing this very personal matter publicly is difficult for me, but I understand that this is something that Pittsburgh should know.

I will always be Luke’s friend and continue to share with him our love of our son, Cooper. We will continue to make sure that he is raised in a loving and supportive family. For his sake, and the sake of our entire family, I thank Pittsburgh for respecting our privacy and allowing us to deal with this as well as we can under difficult circumstances, made all the harder by the public nature of our family.

Luke and I will not be making any further public statements on our separation or our family. Because our privacy on this is so very important to us, we have sought professional assistance, retaining the services of attorney Richard A. Sprague, to help us to address privacy matters. We both will be referring all questions from the media to Mr. Sprague.

[Updated with link to Sprague biography at law firm site.]

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