Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has married his longtime partner, Diana Taylor, in a small, private ceremony at their Upper East Side home, ending a 26-year relationship that began with a chance seating assignment at a budget meeting.
The couple exchanged vows on Monday in front of about a dozen close friends and family, including Bloomberg’s daughters, Emma and Georgina, followed by a lunch .
“Twenty-six years after a chance seating assignment, Mike Bloomberg and Diana Taylor have married,” a spokesman said in a statement .
Bloomberg, 84, and Taylor, 71, first crossed paths at a Citizens Budget Commission meeting while he was mounting his first campaign for mayor. They were seated next to each other .
The relationship turned Taylor into what The New York Times described as New York’s “unofficial first lady” during Bloomberg’s three terms in office from 2002 to 2013, accompanying him to city events while maintaining her own career .
Taylor, who was also previously married, served as superintendent of banking for New York State under Governor George Pataki during Bloomberg’s mayoralty. In 2021, she was approved as chair of the New York City Ballet’s board of directors .
Taylor has been a fierce defender of Bloomberg when he faced scrutiny. During his 2020 presidential campaign, as he faced criticism over past demeaning comments about women, Taylor served as a character witness at a campaign field office in California .
At a “Women for Mike” rally in Texas, she offered a blunt response to concerns about his past remarks: “It was 30 years ago. Get over it,” she told CBS News at the time .
She also left a Post-it note at a campaign office that read: “I like Mike because I LOVE MIKE” .
The couple never had children together. Bloomberg shares daughters Emma, 47, and Georgina, 43, with his ex-wife Susan Brown, to whom he was married from 1975 to 1993 .
Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Bloomberg LP in 1981 and retains an 88 per cent stake in the financial information and media company, which generates an estimated $15 billion in annual revenue .
Forbes estimated his net worth at approximately $109.4 billion in 2026, placing him among the world’s richest people. He has given away more than $25.4 billion in his lifetime to causes including gun safety, climate change and education .
He served as mayor of New York City for 12 years and launched an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 .
The spokesman did not say why the couple had chosen to marry now . Bloomberg was spotted later Monday afternoon at his company offices .