Relationship With and Marriage To Giuliani
Judith Nathan met Mayor Giuliani in May 1999 at Club Macanudo, an Upper East Side cigar bar; they have said they were introduced by a doctor who is a mutual friend. Giuliani took the initiative in forming an ongoing relationship. The mayor was still married to and living with his second wife, Donna Hanover, although they had been publicly distant since 1996, and Nathan was still living with Zacharioudakis. For most of a year, the relationship was kept secret, and in early 2000 Giuliani arranged for New York Police Department security and chauffeuring for her. By March 2000 Giuliani and Nathan were appearing together at public events; in May 2000 Giuliani publicly acknowledged her as his "very good friend" and, amidst a flurry of press scrutiny about Nathan, announced he was separating from Hanover. Nathan endeared herself to the mayor's powerful inner circle of friends and advisers. Later in 2000, Giuliani credited Nathan's nursing background in helping him through his treatment for prostate cancer. Nathan aggressively researched treatment options and Giuliani was quoted as saying, "I felt so fortunate to have not only someone who loved me and cared about me, but also someone who was an expert with an enormous amount of knowledge of medicine and science-she was the single biggest support that I had." Nathan continues to monitor her husband's health to ensure that he maintains a low-fat diet that includes lycopene.
Judith and Rudy Giuliani became engaged in Paris in November 2002 and they married on May 24, 2003. The wedding was held at Gracie Mansion and was one of only two performed, to date, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The reception for 400 guests included figures from the political, entertainment, and fashion worlds. As a reporter observed of the formal evening nuptials, "All that was lacking was the horse-drawn coach." The couple have a $5 million apartment off Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side in Manhattan and a $4 million summer home in The Hamptons and like to play golf. They also enjoy attending the opera and New York Yankees games. Rudy Giuliani's friends say that she has made him "more fun."
From shortly before their marriage until his presidential campaign began, Rudy Giuliani paid her an average of $125,000 per year for her professional value as a speechwriter.
Rudy Giuliani has frequently cited his wife as his “closest adviser”, saying in 2007 that she remains “an expert we rely on” at his company, Giuliani Partners, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “She gives us a lot of advice and a lot of help in areas where she’s got a lot of expertise – biological and chemical. Since we do security work, that’s an area of great concern – you know, another anthrax attack, a smallpox attack, chemical agents. She knows all of that.”
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