DENVER — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and his wife, First Lady Helen Thorpe, announced they will separate after 10 years of marriage in a joint statement released Tuesday.

Hickenlooper’s office released the statement, announcing what was called a “mutual and amicable” split with Thorpe. The end of the release stressed that neither party has partaken in an extramarital affair and that they had sought “extended counseling”.

“After years of marriage that have added tremendous love and depth to both of our lives, we have decided to separate,” the release stated. “We continue to have the utmost respect for each other, and we remain close friends.”

The release also stated that the split had nothing to do with the difficult events Colorado has faced this summer, such as the slew of wildfires and the Aurora theater tragedy.

DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper was celebrating a friend’s birthday in Colorado Springs Thursday night and he was still there early Friday morning when his phone rang with news of the deadly shooting rampage inside an Aurora movie theater.

“My first reaction is as a parent and I know how I felt, just how my guts constricted,” Hickenlooper said Monday in an exclusive interview with FOX31 Denver at the Capitol.

For the last three days, Hickenlooper has been meeting with law enforcement, escorting the president, counseling victims’ families and survivors at the University of Colorado Hospital, addressing thousands at Sunday’s candlelight vigil, juggling myriad interviews with the national media and, almost as an afterthought, thinking about his own emotions.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Monday that the 2010 lawsuit filed challenging the legality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (PPACA) was not about health care.