Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

News

Life With Carl: Paladino's Wife Discusses His Love Child

Ben Yakas

Published Sep 26, 2010

Modified Sep 26, 2010

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Ben Yakas

Published Sep 26, 2010

Modified Sep 26, 2010

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

As the gubernatorial campaign has heated up in the last two weeks, there's been a little mud slinging and a lot of great photo shopping. We've also learned that Carl Paladino's wife, Cathy, is a registered Democrat who's had a complicated relationship with her husband: not only did he have a love child with his mistress, but he told his wife about it the same week that his son Patrick was killed in a car accident. But she's ok with all that: "...my first thought was, 'How lucky. Every child's a gift.' That was my thought. I wasn't angry, you know. I can deal with one family crisis at a time. But to multi-task...It's not that important."

The personal back story between Paladino and his wife has been a compelling storyline every since Paladino first stepped into the race last spring. Neither spouse has shyed away from talking about the their baggage: “Everybody knows anyway. And they should know. They should know the background of people, and they should know that it doesn’t matter how much money you have, how rich you are—things happen. And you deal with them and move on. Every family has problems, " she told the Times. Not that she had too much of a choice in the publicity the campaign brought; "[Paladino's campaign staff] had three words for me: 'Get over it,' " she told The Post.

The child, Sarah, is now a fully integrated part of her family Cathy says, and she's comfortable enough with the situation that she did not object when Carl traveled to Italy last year with Sarah and Sarah's mother Suzanne Brady (who calls Paladino "a great guy."). Her pragmatism extends as far back as her first meeting with Paladino in college, when he insulted her on their first date. Their lives remain just as complicated now; with him on the campaign trail and her remaining at home in Buffalo, they don't see or speak to each other for days at a time: “I have a life,” she said.

Tagged

campaign

carl paladino

cathy paladino

gubernatorial race

love child

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn

Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.

Rosemary Misdary

Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET

Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Samantha Max

News

Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Samantha Max

Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time

David Brand

School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year

Jessica Gould

NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them

Clayton Guse

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .