Rielle Hunter Called "Delusional," Home Wrecker

(CBS)  Rielle Hunter, John Edwards' one-time mistress and the mother of his love child, said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she doesn't think she's a home wrecker. Hunter said there were issues in the marriage of the former presidential candidate and ex-North Carolina senator to Elizabeth Edwards before Hunter came along.

But Diane Dimond begs to differ.

Dimond, a special correspondent and investigative reporter for "Entertainment Tonight," has been following the Edwards-Hunter story closely since it surfaced.

Dimond told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Friday she thinks Hunter is, too, a home wrecker, and is "delusional."

Edwards first admitted two years ago that he had an affair with Hunter. In January, Edwards admitted he and Hunter have a 2-year-old daughter. He'd initially denied it. He and Elizabeth Edwards are now separated. Elizabeth suffers from terminal cancer.

The status of the Hunter-Edwards relationship is unclear. Hunter said in a GQ magazine piece that accompanied a controversial photo spread last month that the affair ended in July 2008. On Thursday, Hunter wouldn't tell Winfrey the current nature of the relationship, calling it private, but said she thinks he still loves her. Edwards is providing support to both her and their daughter, Hunter added.

Hunter also told Winfrey she and Edwards didn't use birth control, and that the two did indeed make a sex tape.

Dimond said what surprised her most in watching the interview by Winfrey was that Hunter "still trusts John Edwards after he's been known to be a proven liar, that they thought it was a good idea not to use birth control while he was running for president, and that they thought it would be a good idea to videotape their intimacies right before the Iowa caucuses."

Dimond added that Edwards knew full-well a sex tape was being made, saying, "I have talked to people who have seen the tape and there is no doubt the camera is trained right on him. So he knew. He played to the camera."

Dimond watched the Thursday interview with a cynical eye.

"(Hunter) talked a lot about truth and reality -- and all the while living a lie," Dimond observed. "I just kept thinking in my mind this is a delusional woman. She does not live on the same sort of plain that I do. I looked at her body language - (it) was very sort of Zen-like and Earth mother, and everything's just fine. Well, it's not fine. You know, there's a whole household back at the Elizabeth Edwards house that is devastated by this. She doesn't seem to think that she's responsible. She doesn't think she's a home wrecker. But in fact, she is."

Dimond said she saw Hunter as confirming "everything" in a tell-all book by former Edwards campaign aide Andrew Young. "I was so surprised," Dimond noted, "when Oprah said, 'And so, it was a sex tape?' 'Yes, it was a sex tape.' 'And he took his vows with Elizabeth even though he had just learned you were pregnant?' 'Yeah.' 'What did you think?' 'Well, it hurt.' But she still loves him. And in matters of the heart, how you can explain it, but I just -- I thought she was kind of a self-justifiable person."

Rodriquez pointed out that, "A lot of people came away with a bad image of (Hunter), especially after that GQ (photo) shoot where she posed in that men's shirt, with all those stuffed animals around her. and no pants. I was thinking maybe this was an attempt to rehab her image."

"I've covered these kinds of stories for a long time," Dimond remarked, "and in any of these big public dramas, everybody's got to at some point spill their guts. Andrew young wrote a book. (Hunter) went to GQ. That kind of bit her in the you-know-what, because of those pictures. and so now, what else did she have left to do but to talk to the queen of talk, Oprah? And I think this (the Winfrey sit down) was really important to her. Even John Edwards, whom she still loves and (she) says loves her, said, 'Please don't do this interview,' and she did it anyway.

"I wonder if it wasn't in part so that her daughter would have a record of somebody, somebody saying something nice about her daddy."

[lenpot]

Maybe she's hoping that what happened to Camilla Parker-Bowles could happen to her. After all, people forgive and forget. Sad.

[KarmaRielle]

Rielle Hunter is a crazy phychopath. Glenn Close from Fatal Attraction has nothing on Rielle Hunter. Thank GOD for Andrew Young. John Edwards is just being "nice" to her now because of his legal nightmare. He KNOWS his Fatal Attraction, crazy horse faced, nut job will could send him to jail. If John Edwards had any love for Hunter, he'd be with her. HE'S NOT. The pantless flake, got herself pregnant on purpose WHILE HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, and to back up her emotional blackmail she filmed him going down on her. What a lady. Poor Quinn. She's MOMMY'S little cash cow.
She'll also know she's the product of an crazy, manipulative tramp. And her Daddy's BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.

[petewestwood]

It seems like there?s just a flurry of pent up sexual anxiety down there. He would stand a much better chance of scoring in South Carolina, assuming there are still (ahem ) hiking partners left. if not, there?s always the opportunity to become a Fox News Contributor;

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/06/the-sad-life-of-jon-edwards/

[PugFanatic]

I'll stop blaming the women when they get their self-absorbed, narcissistic faces off my television and computer screens! Yes, the men are bottom-feeding scumbags with their brains between their legs. However (with the exception of that nut-job S.C. governor Mark Sanford) they have the good sense to **** about their affairs. I'm sorry, but if you sleep with a married man, you are not entitled to: money, fame, sympathy or any sense of entitlement. When mature adults find themselves in unhappy marriages they hopefully go to counseling. If that doesn't work: get separated and then divorced. What a unique concept in this age of "I want what I want and I want it NOW and I don't give a damn who gets hurt in the process". I hope Rielle remembers that a person who cheats...is a person who cheats....is a person who cheats. May karma bite her in her hippy-dippy, new-age ass.

[LeslieLuise]

It takes two to tango, people! Stop blaming the woman, women! John Edwards was hot to trot and he got exactly what he wanted from Rielle.
He is a shameful, weak minded man but so was Bill Clinton, John Kennedy, should I go on? It's an old story that's been going on since time began and it will continue to go on. What else would Extra talk about and People Magazine write about? And we wouldn't be able to leave comments! Ho hum.

[rsmik]

The article makes me wonder if Diane Dimond doesn't have some vested interest in judging Rielle Hunter. Does she remind you of the woman who wrecked your home, Diane?

[rsmik]

That's right girls, keep blaming the other woman for wrecking your home. Stand by your man!

[JayAdler1]

How come all these woman are so dumb? This lady, judging only from what I have read since she was outed as Edwards' paramour has been doing very well for herself. There is no way for me to verify the following so I will characterize these tidbits as public information. She earned or acquired an expensive dwelling in a tony waterfront community in Southern California. She always has nice clothes, may be supported in her activities and she does not have to worry about anything including legal representation. I see the same comments directed at Sarah Palin who the media says has already earned $12million and climbing. Give me the money and you can call me anything you want.

[pizzanick2]

Can I have the 5 minutes that I wasted reading this article, back???

[noimmiez]

I THINK THE HEADLINE HERE IS CORRECT! WHAT A FREAKIN' BEOTCH! SHE KNEW DAMN WELL HE WAS MARRIED! IF THESE PEOPLE WANTED TO SCREW EACH OTHER, THEN JOHN SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN DIVORCED FIRST. THIS IS SO DISGUSTING!