Clintons outlast the Gores

OK, which one of you had the Clintons in the office pool of which couple would stay together the longest from the 1990s White House?

Congratulations, you win. Shockingly.

In the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998, the odds that Bill and Hilary would still be together in 2010 seemed slim and none. And, as they say, Slim just left town. But here they are, 12 years later, still together. Some cynics may say it's for political reasons, but bottom line, they're still married.

Al Gore, Clinton's veep, and wife, Tipper, however, won't be too much longer, it seems. It was announced by NBC on Tuesday that after 40 years of marriage, one that often seemed sunny, that the two are separating.

According to NBC, the Gores were telling friends they "grew apart" after 40 years of marriage and there was no affair involved, according to two longtime close associates and family friends.

The associates said the Gores, over time, had carved out separate lives, with the former vice president on the road frequently. One of the associates said: "Their lives had gotten more and more separated."

Maybe Tipper got tired of hearing about all of her husband's warnings of global warming.

The Gores, who were married on May 19, 1970, at the National Cathedral in Washington, crafted an image as a happily married couple during his eight-year stint as vice president in the 1990s and a presidential candidate in 2000. The couple famously exchanged a long kiss during the 2000 Democratic presidential convention.

The image of their warm relationship stood in sharp contrast to the Clinton marriage rocked by Clinton's affair with White House intern Lewinsky, a scandal that hung over Gore's own presidential campaign. Gore narrowly lost the presidency to George W. Bush in the controversial 2000 election.

Al Gore at the time said his wife was "someone I've loved with my whole heart since the night of my high school senior prom."

The Gores have four adult children, Karenna, Kristin, Sarah and Albert III.