Elizabeth Edwards In Anguish After Affair
Elizabeth Edwards' cancer diagnosis forced her to decide quickly whether she would leave her husband after he confessed to having an affair, her brother and a friend told People magazine.
"She couldn't say, 'Well, maybe we'll work through this for years, or maybe we should separate for two years,"' said Hargrave McElroy, a friend, told the magazine for its Aug. 25 issue. "(The cancer) forced her to choose whether to move forward."
Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, admitted last week to having a short affair in 2006 with a filmmaker named Rielle Hunter, who was hired that year to produce short videos for his political action committee. The former North Carolina senator denied he was the father of Hunter's five-month old daughter, and offered to take a paternity test to prove it.
Through her attorney, Hunter rejected the idea of such a test and said she has no intention to speak publicly about the affair. Through a spokeswoman, both John and Elizabeth Edwards declined a request for an interview Wednesday.
On The Early Show Thursday, the reporter who wrote the article in People, its Washington correspondent, Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, said to co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "He told her it's not his (baby) and she believes him. As her best friend said, she wants to believe him. She does believe him, and that that was really what she wanted most out of him going public -- to knock down those reports, so they could get the truth out, and get on with her life."
"You say she believes him about the child?" Rodriguez asked again.
"That's what I'm told," replied Westfall.
She added that Elizabeth has been taken aback by the public reaction to John's announcement.
Said Westfall, "(Elizabeth's) friend told me (Elizabeth) thought her forgiving him should be enough for everybody else and (Elizabeth) was unprepared for the amount of disgust and how swiftly everything else he had done in his career would be wiped away, and that (Elizabeth is) really reeling from that and afraid what it will do to their legacy as a couple and what their children will inherit."
Edwards has said he both ended the affair and told Elizabeth about his infidelity in 2006. He kicked off his second bid for the White House in New Orleans a few days after Christmas, at an event that Hunter attended and Elizabeth did not.
"The campaign had already gone through its official launch," when John told Elizabeth, Westfall said, " ... and she felt sort of trapped. It was the end of the year 2006, between Christmas and New Year's. They had already done the announcement tour. He was a candidate. And then he drops this bombshell on her. And only in pieces. He told the truth slowly."
But Elizabeth was out campaigning soon thereafter, and continued to do so after the couple disclosed in March that her breast cancer has spread to her bone and could not be cured. In July of that year, the Edwards renewed their vows to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in the presence of a small group of friends and family, including their three children.
"There was anguish - excruciating anguish - for her in dealing with this," McElroy said. "She was angry and furious and everything, but at one point she had to make a choice: Do I kick him out, or do we have a 30-year marriage that can be rebuilt."
Edwards brother, Jay Anania, told People that his sister was focused on her children - 8-year-old Jack, 10-year-old Emma Claire and eldest daughter Cate, 26. When he reached her the day after Edwards admitted publicly to the affair, he said Elizabeth asked him to call later because she was reading with Jack.
"Jack reads to her an hour a day as part of his home-schooling," Anania told People. "The world is whizzing around her and she's cool as a cucumber, saying, 'Jack just started, can I call you back?' "
Why did McElroy and Anania go public?
"They wanted to put out there (Elizabeth) wasn't this wind-up doll that went on stage and let the campaign continue out of some sort of craven ambition, but that she really was going through a lot of anguish," Westfall replied.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. "She couldn't say, 'Well, maybe we'll work through this for years, or maybe we should separate for two years,"' said Hargrave McElroy, a friend, told the magazine for its Aug. 25 issue. "(The cancer) forced her to choose whether to move forward."
Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, admitted last week to having a short affair in 2006 with a filmmaker named Rielle Hunter, who was hired that year to produce short videos for his political action committee. The former North Carolina senator denied he was the father of Hunter's five-month old daughter, and offered to take a paternity test to prove it.
Through her attorney, Hunter rejected the idea of such a test and said she has no intention to speak publicly about the affair. Through a spokeswoman, both John and Elizabeth Edwards declined a request for an interview Wednesday.
On The Early Show Thursday, the reporter who wrote the article in People, its Washington correspondent, Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, said to co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "He told her it's not his (baby) and she believes him. As her best friend said, she wants to believe him. She does believe him, and that that was really what she wanted most out of him going public -- to knock down those reports, so they could get the truth out, and get on with her life."
"You say she believes him about the child?" Rodriguez asked again.
"That's what I'm told," replied Westfall.
She added that Elizabeth has been taken aback by the public reaction to John's announcement.
Said Westfall, "(Elizabeth's) friend told me (Elizabeth) thought her forgiving him should be enough for everybody else and (Elizabeth) was unprepared for the amount of disgust and how swiftly everything else he had done in his career would be wiped away, and that (Elizabeth is) really reeling from that and afraid what it will do to their legacy as a couple and what their children will inherit."
Edwards has said he both ended the affair and told Elizabeth about his infidelity in 2006. He kicked off his second bid for the White House in New Orleans a few days after Christmas, at an event that Hunter attended and Elizabeth did not.
"The campaign had already gone through its official launch," when John told Elizabeth, Westfall said, " ... and she felt sort of trapped. It was the end of the year 2006, between Christmas and New Year's. They had already done the announcement tour. He was a candidate. And then he drops this bombshell on her. And only in pieces. He told the truth slowly."
But Elizabeth was out campaigning soon thereafter, and continued to do so after the couple disclosed in March that her breast cancer has spread to her bone and could not be cured. In July of that year, the Edwards renewed their vows to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in the presence of a small group of friends and family, including their three children.
"There was anguish - excruciating anguish - for her in dealing with this," McElroy said. "She was angry and furious and everything, but at one point she had to make a choice: Do I kick him out, or do we have a 30-year marriage that can be rebuilt."
Edwards brother, Jay Anania, told People that his sister was focused on her children - 8-year-old Jack, 10-year-old Emma Claire and eldest daughter Cate, 26. When he reached her the day after Edwards admitted publicly to the affair, he said Elizabeth asked him to call later because she was reading with Jack.
"Jack reads to her an hour a day as part of his home-schooling," Anania told People. "The world is whizzing around her and she's cool as a cucumber, saying, 'Jack just started, can I call you back?' "
Why did McElroy and Anania go public?
"They wanted to put out there (Elizabeth) wasn't this wind-up doll that went on stage and let the campaign continue out of some sort of craven ambition, but that she really was going through a lot of anguish," Westfall replied.
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Attn gents/playas/ladies men: ALWAYS use a condom when you cheat on your wife/girlfriend.
I can''t stress that enough. You don''t want the beeyotch showing up at your door with a crying baby now do you?
Have fun. But be smart. Use a condom! Preferably two!
But we don''t hear about her, though she would tell her story is the US press would print it.
Search the daily mail UK "The wife John McCain callously left behind" to hear what she has to say.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?searchPhrase=The-wife-John-McCain-callously
Edwards and McCain are both admitted adulterers. Like Edwards, McCain committed adultery while his wife was in the hospital fighting for her life. McCain''s wife waited for him for 7 years while he was a war prisoner in Vietnam. McCain divorced her. McCain married Cindy who was rich and young enough to be his daughter. If you care about this behavior from your president shouldn''t vote for Edwards or McCain. Edwards and McCain are the same in terms of their lack of personal morality while saying that they are a superior choice to Obama on family issues. Be an informed voter! Research the media claims and claims above. God Bless You and God Bless America!
She has cancer, yes, but she was willing to do anything to get the power and glory herself.
Where am i wrong.
Theses people are very very selfish. Both of them
Posted by HamiltonGRAD at 10:52 AM : Aug 14, 2008
The only part you are wrong is where you say "...have a pathologic liar as Pres..." Every president in my lifetime (and I''ve lived a LONG time) has been a liar. It''s just that some were more pathological than others.
I especially agree with "These people are very selfish. Both of them."
IMHO, Mrs. Edwards should have exposed Mr. Edwards BEFORE he ran for president.
good luck with that.
another rockerfeller?
Posted by fenner at 12:53 AM : Aug 15, 2008
-----------------------
LOL!!! You''re only weapon is your weak insults.
You''re not worth my time.
Bye...
And what does it have to do with Mrs. Edwards?
Posted by fenner at 12:47 AM : Aug 15, 2008
---------------------------
What''s the lie?
I don''t get my facts from Daylife.com. LOL!!
are u trying to deflect from the obvious?
OBAMA IS A FRAUD!
Posted by fenner at 12:41 AM : Aug 15, 2008
--------------------------
If nothing else, you ARE good for laughs!!
What DOES Obama''s BIRTH CERTIFICATE have to do with Elizabeth Edwards??
the question now is WHEN DID OBAMA CHANGE HIS NAME?
DID HE EVER CHANGE IT OFFICIALLY, OR JUST ADAPTED IT?
WAS HE EVER A CITIZEN OF INDONESIA WHICH DISALLOWED DUAL CITIZENSHIP UNTIL JUST RECENTLY
%u2013 it is very possible HILLARY is staying visible because she knows obama is not leagally qualified to run for president.
%u2013 obama just may have been given the headsup and that is why he%u2019s now in Hawaii - - he doesnt look too happy there nor does his wife%u2026. IMO, SOMETHING IS UP.
WHY HASNT OBAMA SLAP HIS AUTHENTIC BIRTH CERTIFICATE ON THE TABLE FOR ALL TO SEE?
SOMETHING STINKS, FOLKS%u2026%u2026.AND ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE OBAMA IS CHALLENGED IN ONE OF THE VISITING STATES%u2026%u2026%u2026.QUITE POSSIBLY IN DENVER.
Posted by fenner at 12:14 AM : Aug 15, 2008
-----------------------------
Daylife.com??? Ha Ha Ha.... Pathetic.
Did you ever ask yourself, "If they have Obama''s birth certificate, why didn''t they publish it in the media?"
ROFLMMFAO!!!
And YOU call people DUMBO...
Posted by fenner at 12:25 AM : Aug 15, 2008
So...was he running for political office (congress), or not?
Did Gingrich express interest in being a Republican candidate in 2008? Yes, he did. But he wisely changed his mind, perhaps because he realized he had too many skeletons that had crawled out of the closet.
LOL!!! I will not lower myself to your level by calling you names...