The first part of Elizabeth Edwards’ book tour is a stop on Oprah’s couch to talk about how John lied about all of the cheating, and how Rielle Hunter (“the other woman”) is “pathetic”. Actually, all of that is from Elizabeth’s book, Resilience. When Oprah sat down with Elizabeth in the Edwards’ North Carolina home, Elizabeth refused to use Rielle’s name, only calling her “this person”.
Oprah actually had the cojones to ask Elizabeth about the rumor that John Edwards is the father of Rielle’s child, and Elizabeth actually answers! Elizabeth replied, “That’s what I understand. I’ve seen a picture of the baby. I have no idea. It doesn’t look like my children, but I don’t have any idea.” Whoa… that’s intense. Did it occur to Elizabeth to actually ask John? Or maybe she did, and he lied, or Elizabeth doesn’t know if he’s lying? Or Rielle is lying? Did it occur to anyone to get a damn blood test?
In a revealing new interview with Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Edwards says it’s “complicated” when asked about the state of her marriage to former presidential candidate John Edwards, who famously had an affair with videographer Rielle Hunter.
Is it a day by day thing, Winfrey asks her on Thursday’s show.
“Neither one of us is out the door,” replies Elizabeth, who is battling terminal breast cancer. “So I guess it’s day by day, but maybe it’s month by month.”
Elizabeth — who spoke to Winfrey from her family’s 28,000-square-foot home in Chapel Hill, NC — says they’re “still living together.” But when asked if she still loves her husband, she replies, “You know, that’s a complicated question.”
Looking back on their marriage, Elizabeth tells Winfrey she asked John for one gift before her wedding 31 years ago.
“I wanted him to be faithful to me,” she says. “It was enormously important to me.”‘
But, days after declaring his run for president in 2006, John confessed to his wife that he had had an affair. (The National Enquirer broke the story a year later.)
“What John said is that this woman spotted him in the hotel in which he was staying. He was meeting someone in the restaurant bar area, and she verified with someone who he worked with that it was John,” Elizabeth tells Winfrey.
“John went to dinner at a nearby restaurant and when he walked back to the hotel, she was standing in front of the hotel. She said to him, ‘You are so hot.'”
After the Enquirer broke the story, it also reported that John was the father of Hunter’s daughter (which he denied).
Asked about the speculation, Elizabeth says, “That’s what I understand. I’ve seen a picture of the baby. I have no idea. It doesn’t look like my children, but I don’t have any idea.”
Elizabeth — whose memoir Resilience is to be published May 12 — opens up more about Hunter in the June issue of O.
Choosing not to address Hunter by name, she says, “This person is very different from me, and really very different from him. We’re basically old-fashioned people. So, this was a pretty big leap for him. Maybe it’s being so different is what was attractive.”
Asked about her own mortality, Elizabeth says it’s not “frightening,” but she prays for an “ever-after.”
“I would be leaving part of my family, but I can do [that] and join another party and wait for that day when we’re all together again,” she says. “In some ways, it’s something you yearn for.”
[From US Weekly]
“This person is very different from me, and really very different from him. We’re basically old-fashioned people. So, this was a pretty big leap for him. Maybe it’s being so different is what was attractive.” Funny how that goes – Elizabeth is basically saying John wanted a little “strange” – well, he got it. And now Elizabeth is out there, speaking with more honesty than any cheated-on wife in recent memory.
Homegirl is in denial. If she’s seen the photos, then she knows in her heart that its John’s. None of us spend that much time with him and just looking at that baby’s eyes, you can tell its his.
Wow that’s blow to the face if I ever seen one. That’s great Liz. Punch her in the face. But I have to say, that baby is definitely John’s.
So sad that if John Edwards wanted to experience someone “very different” from his terminally ill wife he couldn’t have held out a little longer and spared his family the pain of his infidelity. Elizabeth Edwards seems to be facing her approaching death with dignity and bravery–I can’t imagine what the news of John’s affair did to her morale. It seems to me that if you love(d) someone enough to marry her and build a family with her you should have enough self-control to not break your marriage vows for a quick thrill. I have lost all respect for John Edwards. On the other hand, Elizabeth Edwards has grown in my estimation…What a strong woman she is in the face of adversity!
wow Dee nile
” that child does’nt look like my children’
well duh..
wait for the other woman to write HER book.
Never liked John Edwards always though he was an oily politician
elizabeth knew about Johns affair and still stood next to him when he was running for President knowing full well what an asshole he is.
“It seems to me that if you love(d) someone enough to marry her and build a family with her you should have enough self-control to not break your marriage vows for a quick thrill.”
I agree. I cannot imagine being that heartless to someone while they are dying. My entire efforts and mental energy would be so focused on them that I wouldn’t have time for anything else.
! said it all in the first sentence.
John always seemed very stupid but poor Elizabeth is just trying to cover this up or she is even more stupid than John.
I feel sorry for her because she seems like a sweet lady who’s trying to keep her family together because she may not be around later. To bad she has such a weak sewer rat for a husband.
What I find interesting is that before their marriage the one thing asked for is faithfulness. I would think that if you had come to the point in the relationship that you were considering marriage you wouldn’t have doubts about that; i.e., I wouldn’t marry someone whom I had to ask not to cheat on me. Weird.
I feel for her; it’s bad enough battling a likely losing fight for your life, doing it in public, with your family being exposed, and their pain at her impending loss magnified by the lookers-on. Devastating.
Wonder how his family is going to treat him after she’s gone.
I don’t have sympathy for him; if you don’t like where you are and whom you’re with…move the hell on, let them go, painful as it is, before you humiliate and eviscerate them.
This is so sad for Elizabeth Edwards, facing death with the knowledge your husband is a lying cheat. His political career is over anyway from what I heard yesterday.
Interesting how Elizabeth implies that John is “old-fashioned” and basically a decent guy underneath, while Hunter is portrayed as the real villain. It takes two, I’m afraid, so he’s just as culpable as his mistress. They’re both (John and Rielle) scumbags, in my opinion. And as others on this thread have already pointed out, the baby looks exactly like John, so it would be hard for anyone to dispute paternity at this point. Although, I suppose until science confirms it, he can always claim otherwise.
Bottom line, there is a small child who is a half sibling to Elizabeth Edward’s three living children. Ultimately, she will do the right thing and insist that this child’s future and well being are put first which means the father steps up and the half siblings have a life together.
She is the only adult in this equation that has any accountability.
Wanna take bets?
This whole concept of none of them “knowing” whether or not John fathered that baby is so perposterous to me! What woman and mother in her right mind would not only stay with the man who was consistanly unfaithful to her when she was undergoing chemo, but then would not DEMAND to find out the paternity of her husbands mistres’s child? I know that there are alot of Elizabeth Edwards supporters out there (I’m not really sure why), but this scenario speaks volumes about her self esteem and mindset. If any of this is true, then she would rather not have the answers to provide to her own children in reference to their potential sibling in order to protect her own fragile ego. So sad.
boo: How can you say that? Do you know Elizabeth personally? How can you possibly predict what her future actions will be. The bottom line is that they all have had over a year to do the right thing and have chosen not to. ALL THREE adults in this horror show are selfish. End of story.
She is in denial. I don’t think she is displaying strength. I think that she, her husband, and his mistress are 3 very self absorbed individuals.
I know that may strike some as harsh. But all three are more concerned about their love lives and their feelings then the children who are living in a house of cards.
Regardless of how she may feel about the affair, it’s clear she wants to pretend John’s daughter doesn’t exist. Well she’s wrong. That little girl cannot be wished away.
John screwed up big time. Like his mistress, he’s a villain in this mess too. His political career is over and his wife was a willing partner in his scam of a presidential campaign.
Hunter hunted a married man. No surprise his promises went up in smoke. But the baby is innocent in all this and should NOT be treated like she has the mark of ham.
Elizabeth’s children have a half sister they should know and spend time with.
And John, after losing a child, how can he pretend a new one doesn’t exists?? And Elizabeth, how can she stand behind his decision??
Oh Pleeeze.
The only “old-fashioned” thing about the Edwards is the way they shovel their s–t rather than giving it a quick flush.
She’s on a book tour knowing full well that the topic everybody wants to hear about is John’s affair.
And she’s right there, shovel in hand, regardless of the stink.
she is making money out of this.. ugh anyway wait for Rielle to write her version in a book.
LOL. Great post, Tess, very nicely put! And I agree.
DNA TEST NOW!!!! and close that sordid story for good. That little girl must know the identity of her father.
You know, sometimes life gets messy… even in the best marriages. Sometimes you can forgive and move on. I’m not saying forget, but forgive. Everyone will make a stupid mistake at some point in their lifetime, these poor people just happen to be doing it in front of us.
Let he/she who is without sin cast the first stone.
Just saying…
Read Rielle Hunter’s wikipedia page. She’s a rather interesting character.
I don’t understand the animosity towards her. Give her a break. Her husband cheated on her and fathered a child. She has to know the baby is his. She is not stupid. Maybe under any other circumstance she should have left him, but she is DYING and they have two small children. Is it really worth it to leave him, put your children through that, just so you can go through your treatments and eventually die alone?
The reason I think Elizabeth should ask for a paternity test is because Rielle’s child could be an heir to the Edwards’ extensive fortune. It seems like something she would want taken care of before she dies – my guess is they already have trusts set up for their three children, and if Rielle’s child is John’s, that would change the trusts.
I hope that Elizabeth defies the odds and beats cancer…then kicks John to the curb!
I really believe that if she were not terminally ill, she would have left him a long time ago.
I hope John Edwards realizes how lucky he is that loyalty still means something to other people.
He is the ultimate scumbag.
#20 Rielle wiki page
she and John deserve each other cant wait for her book !
Well, it probably is his child. But since the child’s mother is a whore who screws married men, there are probably dozens of other contenders as well. I certainly wouldn’t take her word for it; a DNA test is in order.
1- she damn well knows it’s his kid otherwise he would be parading the dna test on his forehead
2- no matter how many nano seconds of time she has left of life she is just as pathetic as the mistress to be staying with him and standing by him.
3- attacking the mistress is what is pathetic: she never took any vows, John did, he could have said no
4- a dude doesn’t wake up at 55 and decides to satrt cheating after 31 years of marriage: you know he’s done that before
5- why the heck do you want to write about it, seriously?! enjoy your manufactured little kids and the grown up one, do a bucketlist and get on with it, stop wasting your time with this crap. It’s been 3 years already!!
Me grumpy?
Pam, I think you’re right. Life does get messy sometimes and people do make terrible mistakes. It’s fun to bash and point the finger, but in the end, we’re all human. Why is it other people’s f***ups are so much worse than our own? The only thing that makes this harder for me to understand are their ages. Most of my misdeeds took place when I was much younger. You would hope that they’d learned by now….
i don’t understand why she even relays his story about the other woman approaching him and calling him hot… i mean why believe one word out of his mouth at this point?? he has been lying and scheming and manipulating all throughout this scandal. so much so that i belive whatever the opposite of what he says happened, meaning HE spotted her at the hotel and HE called her hot. more likely.
Look at her, and look at her why didn’t he wait for her to die before shoping his dick around?
i also can’t help but think what precious moment these are for her, and what is the motivation to be on a book tour talking about this junk rather than treasuring this time in more meaningful ways?
Oh yes, let me air my personal dirty laundry on TV before I snuff it, it’ll look so noble and empowering. As opposed to shutting your yap and spending your last days doing actual good for some people.
Umm, the kid may not look like the other Edwards children, but she sure as hell looks like John Edwards. Wake up, Elizabeth.
I can’t believe she would practically put John on a pedestal and claim he was old-fashioned. Some women are absolutely clueless as to what types of freaks they’re married to.
That’s what happens when your marriage becomes more of a business partnership. You become disengaged and it opens the door for this kind of drama. Especially when you’re married to a bottom feeder like John Edwards.
I can only assume she stays with him because of the small children…..yet, what is that really about in this case?
Is she teaching them commitment and forgiveness? Or something else–like being codependent, enabling bad behavior?
I dont know …. my pride is too great. I would (did) say to myself: “Do I want my children to see their mother disrespected and treated in such a poor fashion, and then swallow it? What will they think of me? WIll they then in turn accept poor behavior from others?”
Just sayin’………….
She is pathetic.
rielle is a horse face. it just proves that when men have affairs, they’re not very particular. the first floozy who walks by will do.
People who are saying she is pathetic are absolutely heartless. When you are DYING, why don’t you see if you have enough energy and strength to go through a divorce, especially with children involved. What is she going to do, go restart her life when she is dying. It is a shame that her last memories of her life on earth with be what her worm of a husband did to her. What an absolute tragedy for her. My guess is that she knows full well that Rielle’s baby is his, but maybe they don’t want to broadcast it to everyone just yet. Maybe they don’t want to have that talk with their children just yet. Who knows the reasons. Maybe it is simply too painful. It is their business. Who cares if she is in denial…she is DYING and you are berating her for having no self repect.
There’s another reason why both J & E Edwards are dancing around the paternity issue. John Edwards paid Reille Hunter money out of his campaign to make some videos for him (videos that were never used in the campaign). There is currently suspicion that she got the job (and the money – she was grossly overpaid), because she was sleeping with JE not because he needed a videographer. There is also concern that there is more money, MUCH more that came into RH’s hands after this and the source of that money has some disturbing connections to JE’s campaign. There is currently a federal investigation into this issue.
JE has defended himself by saying his affair with RH did not start until AFTER he hired RH to make the overpriced videos he never used. However, if JE fathered her child, given the age of the child, that means the affair must have begun BEFORE she was hired to make the videos and it strengthens the legal case against him.
This federal investigation is VERY serious and there is a great deal at stake. The financial future of Elizabeth’s children, her husband’s ability to support her children as the only surviving parent one day (he would probably lose his license to practice law), and the possibility of jail time. In addition to that, we don’t know how much trouble both Elizabeth and John could be in if they lose this case depending on how much of the cover-up Elizabeth may have engaged in once she found out.
You know…an affair doesn’t make you an all around bad person. I think that’s what she was trying to say.
And why don’t these people go on Maury or something and solve this baby thing?
“an affair doesn’t make you an all around bad person”
Yes it does. If you are willing to cheat on the person you supposedly love most in the world, that you have made a commitment to, then I shudder to think what one would do to someone they didn’t supposedly love or make promises to. If someone is willing to cheat on their spouse, then how can they be trusted in any other area of their lives? They’ve already proven that they are unwilling to honor their commitments.
I felt sorry for what she had to endure with the public humiliation of John’s slimy affair and love child.
But by standing by her man, she sets a horrible example for her daughters. Is that how she would want to be remembered?
Standing up for herself, being strong and kicking him to the curb, or make lots of $ to leave her daughters and son in her will.
Talk about a pity party…..
OK …….. before I say it I know I’m going to get cursed out and some of your comments are going to be so hateful the site will be forced to remove the post but ……….. I had so much more sympathy for Mrs. Edwards before she decided to “open up.” When I hear her speak of the other woman and say “she is so different, we don’t know people like her.” I feel like she has this sense of superiority like she is so much better than the other women. When she says “women need to have respect for other women” I can’t totally disagree with the statement but damn the other woman respecting her, the other woman didn’t make a vow / promise to her, John did. Then she said if they were to find out the baby is his,(she just like all of us know it is her husband’s baby) that would not have anything to do with her, that would be his life. She’s a politician’s wife, trust me, it has already been confirmed the baby is his and John is paying the other woman handsomely to lay low. Now playing devil’s advocate Elizabeth has been sick for a while, that’s a lot for any family to deal with. With everything she has to deal with do you think romance is a priority to her. We all understand she is dealing with very serious medical issues, that has to be her priority, but …….. (oh I know you people are waiting outside my house) her husband has needs also. Should he have done it? The moral and politically correct answer is NO but John is no different than any other person (male or female) that is dealing with a stressful situation and have acted on their sexual frustrations. From the looks of it ……… (I’m just going to say it) John loves the other woman but he knows his political career would be trashed if he left his dying wife and young children for the other woman. We all know John has had his “needs” fulfilled prior to this woman but to get the woman pregnant, to still try to sneak around to see her and the baby, to give her $100000 from his campaign, and whatever else , he’s in love with her…….. I’ll take my beat down now.
Sweet, holy jesus. I didn’t think the woman-hating could reach even greater heights! She’s been publicly cheated on and she’s dying, but the dear, sweet commentators of CB shall prevail. I’m impressed.
Keep up the good work, gals!
Well said, Jules and Erin. I saw the Oprah interview and don’t understand the animosity twd Elizabeth. I will say, however, I thought Oprah was a bit much in the final moments, standing in the doorway with John and Elizabeth (crewmen awkwardly trying to hide themselves in background). Oprah came across as judgmental and it seems to me that nobody but Elizabeth, John, and the other woman really know what’s what here.
Give me a break! The only reason Elizabeth Edwards is bringing this up is she is embarrassed that this affair, which was not John’s only affair, became national news. A slick trial lawyer who made his millions by twisting words and manipulating juries was brought down by four little words? How stupid do Elizabeth think we are? And if John is so concerned about poverty, why does he charge $90,000 to speak about it? Seems that could help a lot of people, including the mother of his baby. Men who want to cheat cheat; men who love their wives and don’t want to cheat, don’t; it’s really as simple as that.
Also, a woman who is on top of things and responsible “doesn’t know” if the baby is John’s. Hey, news flash, have him take the test, find out, stop talking about it. Or is everyone waiting until Elizabeth is gone to get to that chapter? Wait until Reielle writes her book, then we’ll find out who seduced who, and what John told her about Elziabeth. I know she has cancer, but even before, look at Elizabeth, she is an overbearing, unattractive woman, of course he cheated on her, repeatedly. She is angry that it became news, that is all this is about.
It is unfortunate that Elizabeth is in critical situation with her health and having to deal with the affair made public. But hey, John is an attractive charasmatic affluent guy who is married to a wife who is not at all sexually attractive. Of course the guy wants to get into bed with someone who makes him feel good sexually. Thats life–some people age well and others don’t and they can’t expect their partners to give up on sex for the rest of their life.