From Staff Reports 

HENDERSONVILLE — U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Hendersonville, announced on Dec. 22 that he and his wife, Cristina, are seeking a divorce after eight months of marriage.

Cawthorn, 26, was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected to fill Mark Meadows unexpired term. (Meadows vacated his congressional seat to serve as then-President Donald J. Trump’s chief of staff.)

Meanwhile, the U.K. Daily Mail on Dec. 23 noted in a subheadline: “Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn’s soon-to-be-ex-wife Cristina, 28, admits there were ‘difficulties’ in their marriage: CrossFit athlete says shift to public life was ‘strenuous’ — but they are still great friends and there is no ‘ill will.’”

A spokesperson for Cawthorn on the night of Dec. 22 made the personal announcement on the congressman’s behalf.

Following is Cawthorn’s complete statement on Twitter, as released by his Communications Director Luke Ball:

“When my wife Cristina and I were engaged, I was not a member of Congress. I felt called to serve and we both agreed that I should run.

“Our victory was unprecedented, but overnight our lives changed. That change has been both hectic and difficult. It’s neither the pace nor the lifestyle we had planned for.

“From the outset, we committed to make things work, to fight for our marriage and seek counsel for balancing the enormity of such a transition in life.

“Together, we realized that balance was not attainable, and that we had irreconcilable differences between us.

“While it was an enormously difficult decision, Cristina and I have mutually decided to divorce. We ask for privacy as we work through this privately.”

Cawthorn married Cristina Bayardelle on Saturday, April 3, 2021. His marriage was announced online a day later, saying the ceremony had marked seven years since the crash that had put him in a wheelchair.

In a statement from April 2021, Cawthorn said, “On April 3rd of 2014 my life changed forever. A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future. On April 3rd of 2021 my life has once again changed forever.”

Cawthorn announced in November that he would be switching districts and would be running for a congressional seat in the newly drawn NC District 13.

In promoting a story on what it termed “hard-right” Cawthorn’s divorce on its website independent.co.uk, the UK Independent stated in a teaser headline the following:

“Pair cite pressures of a major life change for causing the end of their marriage, with wife saying she did not ‘want to be married to someone changing the world.’”