Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair have separated after twenty years of marriage, a French magazine reported Friday.

Closer, a celebrity gossip magazine, reported in an "exclusive" that Sinclair, a journalist, had asked Strauss-Kahn nearly a month ago to leave their central Paris home.

"She believed right up to the end, but today, it's all over between them," Closer wrote.

Strauss-Kahn, who was described as "shattered" and "depressed" by the break-up, had taken up residence in a Paris apartment, the report - which was relayed by Le Point news weekly and other French media - read.

Sinclair, 63, had yet to respond to an emailed request from dpa for confirmation. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers were not immediately available for comment either.

The report comes more than a year after Strauss-Kahn, also 63, was arrested in New York on charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid. The scandal saw him forced to resign his position at the IMF and buried his ambition of running for French president.

Although US prosecutors later dropped the criminal charges, the Sofitel affair, as it was known, triggered a flurry of allegations against Strauss-Kahn that have kept him in the headlines ever since.

The former finance minister is under formal investigation for involvement in a French-based prostitution ring. Meanwhile, in New York, maid Nafissatou Diallo has begun civil proceedings against him.

Sinclair stood by him throughout the past year, her long-suffering style winning her a mix of derision and admiration.

In recent months, the former TV presenter sought to get her own career, which she had put on hold for his career, back on track.

Since January, she has been editing the French version of the Huffington Post news site.

Strauss-Kahn's career, by contrast, is in tatters.

Speculation had been swirling in French media for weeks that their contrasting fortunes were putting a strain on their relationship.