John McCain's Divorce Settlement

Here's an old AP story from February 24, 2000:

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - John McCain gave up his interest in two homes and agreed to pay $1,625 a month in alimony and child support when he divorced his first wife 20 years ago, court records show.

The senator and Republican presidential candidate divorced his wife Carol in 1980 when he was a Navy captain with a home of record in Orange Park, Fla., about 12 miles south of Jacksonville.

McCain, 63, gave her his interest in homes in Alexandria, Va., and South Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., according to records of the divorce settlement obtained by The Associated Press and other newspapers.

The Arizona senator agreed to give her their furnishings, $1,325 a month in alimony, $300 in child support. He also agreed to pay an additional $500 monthly if she couldn't find a job.

She was subsequently employed in the Reagan White House, according to George "Bud" Day, McCain's attorney during the divorce. Day also was one McCain's cellmates when they were prisoners of war in Vietnam.

Carol McCain, who has remained friendly with her former husband, did not immediately return a phone call to her Virginia home Thursday seeking comment.

McCain filed for the divorce, stating in court records that the marriage was "irretrievably broken."

Under the settlement, McCain maintained insurance policies worth $64,000 with their children as beneficiaries, agreed to pay for their daughter's college education and paid $3,005 in joint debts. Carol McCain got the family's Audi, while McCain was allowed to keep a Datsun 810 and his personal belongings, the records show.

A month after the divorce, McCain married Cindy Lou Hensley, heiress to Phoenix-based Hensley & Co., the nation's second-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor.

Carol McCain was seriously injured in a traffic accident on Christmas Eve 1969, but her husband did not find out about it until he was released from Vietnam, Day said.

In the settlement, McCain agreed to provide insurance or pay medical bills for additional treatment she was expected to require.