Riordan Files for Divorce After 4-Year Separation

After a four-year legal separation, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has filed for divorce from his second wife, Jill.

Court papers filed earlier this year in Monterey County, where Jill Riordan lives, outline what appears to be an amicable divorce because of irreconcilable differences. The couple also appear to be in no great hurry to dissolve their marriage--court documents obtained this week indicate that Jill Riordan had not yet responded to the mayor’s petition, nor had a property division agreement been filed. The couple had no children together.

The mayor, 66, would not say whether he and his frequent companion, children’s activist Nancy Daly, have plans to marry. Daly became the city’s unofficial first lady when she appeared at his side throughout his July 1, 1993, inauguration festivities. The following year, Riordan and Daly bought an Idaho vacation home together, and she recently accompanied him on an official city visit to Israel.

Richard and Jill Noel Riordan married July 17, 1980, according to the divorce documents, and separated April 1, 1992, a year before he ran for mayor. Riordan refused to talk about the divorce “because it’s so personal,” but said on one occasion that his wife is a researcher in nuclear proliferation issues. “I’m very proud of her,” Riordan said.

Jill Riordan could not be reached for comment Friday, nor could Daly.

The mayor’s first marriage, to Eugenia Warady, ended in annulment after 23 years and five children. Riordan, a devout Catholic who is close to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, did not say whether he would seek another annulment.

How does the mayor square his two failed marriages with his Catholicism? In a recent interview about the role religion plays in his life, Riordan said:

“Certainly, when [a marriage] doesn’t work for whatever reason, you know, there’s a failure somewhere . . . but nothing is that clear cut. . . . I’ll let God judge me.”

Times religion writer Larry B. Stammer contributed to this story.