SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – Michael Schiavo, whose brain-damaged wife was at the center of a contentious end-of-life battle that played out on a worldwide media stage, has remarried, family members said.
Schiavo married his longtime girlfriend Jodi Centonze on Saturday in a private church ceremony, said John Centonze, the brother of the bride.
Schiavo's former wife, Terri, died in March after her feeding tube was removed. She had suffered irreversible brain damage after collapsing at age 26 in 1990.
Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings fought for years to keep her alive, arguing that she had some level of consciousness. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, the White House and even the Vatican became involved in the case.
An autopsy supported Michael Schiavo's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state with no consciousness and no hope of recovery.
Schiavo and his new bride have two young children. They met in a dentist's office about 11 years ago and began a relationship after Terri Schiavo was already in a nursing home.
"It was very emotional," John Centonze said after the noon ceremony. "It's been a long time coming. A lot of things happened in between."
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