Stabenow Divorced in May, Newspaper Reports

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 | 10:00 p.m.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., divorced her husband Tom Athans in May, more than two years after he was caught up in a prostitution sting at a hotel in suburban Detroit, the Detroit Free Press reported last week.

News of the divorce only leaked out when a source referred to Athans as Stabenow’s ex-husband in a conversation with a Free Press reporter, the newspaper said. Stabenow spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday wearing what appeared to be her wedding ring on her right hand.

The Free Press tracked down the former couple’s divorce record that was made final at the 56th Circuit Court in Eaton County, Mich., on May 28, the newspaper reported. The papers showed that Stabenow and Athans agreed privately to a property settlement and made no arrangements for alimony payments, the Free Press said.

Athans was questioned by police in Troy, Mich., in February 2008, after he was seen leaving a Residence Inn that was under surveillance for suspected prostitution activities. Athans admitted paying a prostitute $150 for sex; he was not charged but agreed to testify later against a 21-year-old woman from Westland, Mich.

Stabenow, 60, and Athans, a radio producer in his late 40s, were married in 2003.

This article appeared in the Wednesday, December 15, 2010 edition of National Journal Daily.