ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.  (WFLA) – Congressman Charlie Crist filed for divorce on Friday from his wife of nine years.

In 2008, then Governor Charlie Crist married his wife, Carole, in St. Petersburg during a grand ceremony with celebrities and the political elite.

Friday morning came the bombshell.  Crist filed for divorce.

“Seemed like they were a match made in heaven,” said political analyst Barry Edwards.  “They were both very outgoing and very social.”

The two married while Crist was the state’s 44th Governor.  Then, came his unsuccessful bids for Senate in 2010 and 2014.

In November, his won over Republican incumbent David Jolly to represent Florida’s 13th Congressional District, but it’s been a rough start so far.

Crist has missed one of his votes in Washington, parted ways with his well-regarded district director, and has sometimes been slow to respond to some constituents.

“It hasn’t been as smooth as one would have expected,” Edwards told News Channel 8.

News Channel 8 went to Crist’s St. Petersburg office as well as his condo, but he was nowhere to be found.  His spokesperson declined an interview.

Constituents we spoke with stand behind Crist, regardless of the divorce.

We asked Mary Lou Martyn of St. Petersburg if she thought the divorce would have any effect on his job, or even his political future.

“No, and it shouldn’t,” she said.

For now, Edwards believes the divorce will make Congressman Crist an even better politican.

“If there is a silver lining in this, is that he will be a full-time, totally directed public servant now,” Edwards said.

News Channel 8 spoke with the attorney for Carole Crist, who told us that the two are nice people and that right now, they just want their privacy respected.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW

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