Dominique Strauss-Kahn And Wife Anne Sinclair Separate; Onetime Political Star 'Shunned By Everybody'

Scandal-tarred former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair have separated, Reuters reported Thursday night.

The split comes after a New York sex assault claim and alleged involvement with orgies and a prostitution ring destroyed Strauss-Kahn's promising political career, according to a Thursday report from weekly magazine Closer.

Anne Sinclair, a wealthy heiress and journalist who had just relaunched her media career by becoming the Huffington Post's French editor, threw her estranged husband out of their central Paris home a month ago, the magazine said. The pair is now living separately.

Closer did not give any sources for the story in their online edition. But an insider who claims to be close to Strauss-Kahn confirmed the separation to Reuters and said the split occurred about a month ago and Strauss-Kahn was no longer living with his wife.

The French power couple have been married for the last two decades. They became involved when Sinclair, an acclaimed journalist, interviewed her future husband and was smitten with him.

Sinclair stood staunchly by Strauss-Kahn's side when he was accused of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid in May 2011.

The incident forced Strauss-Kahn to quit the International Monetary Fund post and shattered his dreams of running for the French presidency. His Socialist Party colleague Francois Hollande was elected instead over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, whom polls once showed falling to Strauss-Kahn.

He's in a bad way. It's very sad, someone who knows Strauss-Kahn and saw him recently told Reuters. He's mostly just at home on his own while Anne is out and about with her new job. He's shunned by everybody.