Connecticut State Senator Alex Kasser announced her resignation Tuesday and said her ongoing divorce battle with Morgan Stanley executive Seth R. Bergstein is consuming too much energy, particularly as she fends off his "homophobic" attacks against her new same-sex partner.
The 36th Senate District Democrat published a piece on Medium Tuesday, "Fighting for Freedom Takes Courage," which described how her banking executive husband has "used his powerful position at Morgan Stanley" in an attempt to "destroy" her life. Kasser accused Bergstein of engaging in "homophobic, entitled man attacks" on her partner, Nichola Samponaro, a fellow Greenwich native. Kasser said the "painful" divorce battle has become too large of a burden on her personal life and that her resignation will allow her to focus on escaping the "abusive situation" created by her estranged husband.
"For nearly three years, I've been trying to divorce Seth Bergstein. As all survivors of domestic abuse know, emancipating ourselves is an epic struggle that takes years, requires unflinching courage and all our resources—mental, physical, and financial," Kasser wrote in her Medium post.
"Seth uses his powerful position at Morgan Stanley to enable his conduct, so I must work even harder to fight for my freedom. Because of the enormous time and energy this consumes, I can no longer serve my constituents to my fullest ability," Kasser continued.
According to an op-ed she published in Stamford Advocate last year, Kasser said she told her husband she is a lesbian more than ten years ago. Despite this, Kasser claims Bergstein, 55, "has tried to destroy" her same-sex partnership as they wrangle over the divorce proceedings.
Kasser said Bergstein specifically names her newfound partner "56 times for no relevant reason" throughout their divorce filings.
In May, Kasser hired New York attorney Robert Cohen, who is representing Melinda Gates in her mega billion-dollar divorce from Bill Gates. Cohen also represented two of former President Donald Trump's ex-wives, Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, in their respective splits.
Kasser apologized to her constituents Monday for allowing her personal life troubles and alleged abuse by Bergstein to interfere with her public servant duties in the Connecticut State Senate. In addition to Bergstein's alleged homophobic attacks against her partner, Kasser said her estranged husband cited her "ambition" as a reason for seeking the split.
"I ran for office because we need leaders who put principle before party and are loyal to facts, not factions. In court filings, Seth Bergstein accuses me of being ambitious. It is astounding that men are lauded for their ambition while women are still vilified for theirs," Kasser stated.
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Kasser as well as Morgan Stanley Tuesday afternoon for any additional remarks.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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