CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin are divorcing after 20 years of marriage

by Frank Ofili · Published July 12, 2018 · Updated July 12, 2018

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CNN host Christiane Amanpour and husband Jamie Rubin are divorcing after 20 years of marriage, according to a friend.

The couple, who are both journalists, fell in love over ‘late night margaritas’ while working in war-torn Sarajevo.

They tied the knot in a swanky wedding ceremony in 1998, in Italy, attended by John F. Kennedy Jr. and wife Carolyn, diplomat Richard Holbrooke, Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal and former Deputy National Security Adviser James Steinberg.

Despite the plans to divorce, as first reported by the Washington Post, the couple appeared together last weekend at their only child Darius’ graduation from the 500-year-old English boarding school for boys, Tonbridge School in Kent. A source told Page Six the pair ‘are still really good friends.’

Jamie, 58, a former diplomat, journalist and Bill Clinton-era assistant secretary of state for public affairs, is writing and consulting for lobbying firm Ballard Partners.

Amanpour and hubby Jamie Rubin in a 2011 photo by FilmMagic

Christiane, who was born to an Iranian father and a British mother in London and raised in Tehran, is a highly accomplished journalist who has won countless awards, including Emmys and Peabodys, as well as numerous honorary doctorates and degrees for her work.

She moved to the US to study journalism at the University of Rhode Island, which she graduated summa cum laude, before being hired by CNN on the foreign desk in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1983.

Her first big assignment was covering the Iran–Iraq War, and she has since reported on major crises from many of the world’s hotspots, including Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans.

She has also interviewed major political figures and world leaders from across the globe, from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and ex Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to Moammar Gadhafi and even the Dalai Lama.

In 2013, the couple announced they were moving back to London and Christiane called Jamie a ‘true hero’ for moving to England for her.

Jamie, who helped raise their son, served in the State Department under President Bill Clinton, before he joined Sky News as a presenter, and later a commentator.

The couple have just one child together, Darius, (pictured with them in 2008) who has just graduated from high school

He graduated from Columbia University, from which he also received a master’s degree in international affairs and was a member of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Christiane, 60, the host of CNN’s global affairs show ‘Amanpour,’ recently took over Charlie Rose’s prime time PBS slot after he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women (pictured left on CNN, and right, in London today)

Christiane Amanpour’s career highlights

Hired by CNN in 1983, she landed an major assignment covering the Iran–Iraq War.

Her success on the assignment saw her transferred to Eastern Europe to report on the fall of European communism.

By 1990, she was serving as a correspondent for CNN’s New York bureau.

She went onto cover the Persian Gulf War and Bosnian conflict, winning her acclaim and boosting CNN’s profile.

From 1992 to 2010, Amanpour was CNN’s chief international correspondent as well as the anchor of her own eponymous show, Amanpour.

After 9/11, she was the first international correspondent to interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

She’s also interviewed Moammar Gadhafi, Yasser Arafat, and even the Dalai Lama.

Aside from a brief few months working as an anchor for ABC, Christiane has spent the majority of her long journalistic career at CNN.

She’s also won countless honorary doctorates and degrees, and multiple awards including the Livingstone, a couple of Peabodys, 11 Emmys and the Order of the British Empire.