L.A. mayor admits relationship

Jul 04,2007 00:00 by UPI

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa acknowledged Tuesday he is in a romantic relationship with a television reporter.

He described his relationship with Mirthala Salinas, a backup anchor and reporter for Telemundo, as "a friendship that evolved over time," the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

Villaraigosa said Salinas stopped reporting on politics 11 months ago. A spokesman for Telemundo agreed.

The mayor and his wife of 20 years, Corina, announced they were separating last month. Villaraigosa moved out of his official residence, leaving his wife and sons there.

The couple merged their last names, Villar and Raigosa, when they married. But Corina Villaraigosa's mother told the newspaper her daughter plans to change her name legally to Raigosa. She has already filed for divorce.

Reporters had been questioning Villaraigosa about his marriage since January when they noticed he was no longer wearing his wedding ring, and his wife had stopped making public appearances with him. At the time, he said he had lost weight, and the ring was being resized.