I saw a little snippet of this on Morning Joe a few minutes ago, and I couldn’t believe it. But it’s true! John Edwards’ mistress/baby-mama sat down for a profile and photo shoot with GQ magazine! Yikes. First of all, I was prepared to put the weight of the blame for this affair on John, but it looks like Rielle is just as crazy as him. The full GQ piece is here (I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but I’ve skimmed, and this bitch is insane). I should note that this is the first time Rielle has discussed anything about the situation, and she’s even been praised for keeping her mouth shut up until this point. Here’s the NY Post’s epic summary (I’m sorry it’s so long, Rielle has a lot to say):

John Edwards’ mistress has revealed for the first time how the illicit lovers fell in lust and slept together the night they met — and claims the presidential candidate predicted the wild romp would cause his premature ejection from politics.

“Falling in love with you could really f- – - up my plans for becoming president,” Edwards told vixen videographer Rielle Hunter after their sexual tryst at Manhattan’s Regency hotel in February 2006.

In her bombshell interview with GQ, Hunter says:

* Her first words to him were “You’re so hot” — and they had sex later that night in his hotel room.
* Edwards was scared to death of his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, fearing if she knew the truth, “he would be pummeled.”
* The then-presidential candidate hoped Hunter, pregnant with his child, would get an abortion.

Contrary to various accounts of their affair, Hunter, 45, told the magazine she met the former North Carolina senator on the corner of 61st Street and Park Avenue in February 2006, and did not pick him up at a bar. She had spotted him earlier in the lounge of The Regency hotel, but they did not speak.

“I did not know who he was,” Hunter said. “The John Edwards I saw in 2004 on TV I believed to be a disconnected, two-dimensional geek kind of guy. And the man sitting across the room was not that at all.”

After learning who he was, she gave her business card to one of Edwards’ aides.
“It said, ‘Rielle Hunter. Being is free,’ ” she recalled.

Edwards, 56, later looked for her at the lounge and was disappointed she was gone, she said.

“So when he walked around the corner [again] and saw me standing there, he lit up like a Christmas tree. And I thought his reaction when he saw me was just so cute,” she said. “I mean, he looked like a little kid at Christmas. And I just uttered to him, ‘You’re so hot.’ And he said, ‘Why, thank you!’ And he almost jumped into my arms. Literally.”

Later that night, Hunter said, he invited her to his hotel room. She said she told the friends she was with, ” ‘I won’t sleep with him.’ And so I went over to his room, and I walked in. And I. Was. Terrified. Because I had never experienced anything like what was flowing between us.”

“Come closer. I won’t bite you,” Edwards beckoned.

“There was so much attraction and so much — I want to say love,” she said. “And, um, I eventually walked over to his side of the room. He was pretty relentless. And that’s all I’m gonna say on that.”

That was Feb. 21. Over the next four days, “we talked on the phone almost every night for four hours,” she said, and by then, she was “head-over-heels in love.”

To keep their affair secret from his wife, Hunter bought a second cellphone for Edwards — identical to his regular one — for her to call him on. She said Elizabeth Edwards, 60, learned of the relationship after discovering the second phone and dialing the last number called.

“I answered the phone and said, ‘Hey, baby,’ ” Hunter said. “And, click. And then [Elizabeth] confronted him and confronted him, and he finally confessed.”

Hunter said she learned she was pregnant in July 2007 — and that Edwards also knew, even before he and his wife publicly renewed their vows. She said he told her he would support her if she kept the baby.

But “on some level, he was hoping I would get an abortion,” she said. “He wasn’t happy about the timing. Which is understandable. He was married and running for president.”

Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, had no trouble lying to his wife, to his country and to himself, but Hunter insisted he would never lie to her.
Unlike the way he feels about estranged wife Elizabeth, “he’s not afraid of me,” Hunter said.

“He’ll tell me anything and everything. He has no fear that I’m going to abuse him.”

Elizabeth Edwards, on the other hand, was routinely abusive, Hunter said. “I believe what happened in his marriage is, he could not go to his wife and say, ‘We have an issue.’ Because he would be pummeled,” she said.

“Most of his mistakes or errors in judgment were because of his fear of the wrath of Elizabeth . . . And you know, the wrath of Elizabeth is a mighty wrath.”

Although she has been portrayed as a scheming seductress, Hunter said Edwards was the one who seduced her. “I’m not a predator, I’m not a gold digger, I’m not the stalker. I didn’t have any power in that way in our relationship,” she said. “He held all the power.”

When Edwards denied he was the baby’s father in interviews and his aide Andrew Young came forward to claim paternity, Hunter said she was heartbroken but understood. Edwards “was traumatized,” she said. “Because he had been living a life that was now exposed. A hidden life, when it is exposed, is a traumatic event for the person going through it. And they’re not in their right mind.”

She said Young was willing to take the fall for Edwards because “Andrew was in love with Johnny. In love with him. Beyond. And I believe he loved Johnny more than he loved [his own wife] Cheri, so Johnny was the third person in their relationship.”

Hunter said she received financial assistance through Young, but insisted she was never paid “hush money.”

“Andrew gave me money because he felt I shouldn’t be using my own money to travel to see Johnny,” she said. “Andrew always wanted to ‘take care of everything.’ ”

She refused to talk about the purported sex tape of Edwards and a pregnant Hunter that is now at the center of a legal battle involving her and Young.

Edwards finally admitted in January that he was the father of her 2-year-old daughter, Frances Quinn. Hunter said she waited until he came clean to tell her side of the story.
“I didn’t feel like I could ever speak until he did that,” she said. “Because had I spoken, I would have emasculated him. And I could not emasculate him.”

Despite everything they have been through and the pain he has caused her, Hunter said her love for Edwards is “unconditional” — and indicated she hopes they’ll be together forever at some point.

“We love each other very much,” she said. “And that hasn’t changed, and I believe that will be till death do us part. The love doesn’t go away.”

[From The NY Post]

Okay, set aside the insanity for a second and just think about what is motivating this woman. The only thing she really knows about Elizabeth Edwards is what John told her – and I do think John was probably laying it on pretty thick with Rielle. Now, is Rielle telling the truth in this interview? Her timeline seems pretty consistent, so although she’s crazy, she’s not a liar. I’m starting to think of her as simply some insane hussy who fell in love and did everything she could to stay in the life of the man she loved. She doesn’t seem to have any self-respect… but people do crazy sh-t when they’re in love. I don’t know. I mean, I think this woman is a piece of work, but I’m also kind of relieved that she seems so harmless and moronic.

GQ photos of Rielle courtesy of the Washington Post and GQ online.

While John Edwards was cheating on his wife of over thirty years, his mistress was cheating on him with a C-lister. That is, if you believe this story from Star Magazine which claims that Rielle Hunter had something going on the side with Jeff Goldblum. Rielle was allegedly dating Goldblum around the time that she got pregnant with Edwards’ baby, Frances, now two. When Goldblum found out it wasn’t his, he dumped her but it was no skin off Hunter’s back. She had her meal ticket and no longer needed Goldblum as a backup.

The mother of John Edwards’ young child was cheating on him, Star has discovered. At the same time Rielle Hunter was sleeping with the North Carolina democrat she was also having an affair with Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Jeff Goldblum!

Jeff met Rielle in 2006 at the Playhouse West acting school and repertory theater in North Hollywood, where he teaches, we report in our Feb. 22 issue, on newsstands today.

“Jeff said he was in love,” a source tells Star. “They were extremely close — totally, 100 percent, a major item.”

When videographer Rielle got pregnant in 2007, Jeff naturally assumed the baby was his — and Rielle led him on. “He asked her,” says the source. “She would only say, ‘Maybe.’ She kept him guessing.”

When it finally became clear he was not the dad, Jeff, who now dates 21-year-old Los star Tania Raymonde, ended the affair — but Rielle was hardly heartbroken. “Rielle really didn’t care that she lost Jeff,” says the source. “She knew he was just a fling. She cares much more for John.”

[From Star Magazine]

I can see this woman catting around acting classes trying to land a high profile guy. She probably worked to seduce Edwards, Goldblum, and several other men in an attempt to secure her freeloading future. It worked and she ended up with an unscrupulous married guy who basically threw away his political career for her. It’s not a unique story at all.

As we mentioned yesterday, Edwards’ rep denies a recent story that his client proposed to Hunter. The two could be moving in together after Edwards’ wife Elizabeth finally kicked him to the curb, though. Gawker has photos from the real estate listing of the $3.5 million North Carolina beach house that Edwards reportedly purchased for Hunter. Could Jeff Goldblum afford that?

John Edwards’ rep has denied a report that the former Presidential candidate proposed to his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Edwards’ cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, sort-of announced her separation from her husband in late January following Edwards’ admission that Hunter’s baby was his. (I say “sort of” because People ran a cover story on the split titled “Elizabeth’s breaking point” with quotes from her sister, not Elizabeth. You can bet that it was sanctioned by Elizabeth, even if she wasn’t directly quoted.)

Now there are rumors that Edwards wants to make Hunter his wife, so he has someone at home to cook, clean and serve as a scapegoat for him while he lavishes attention on other women. His rep says it’s not true, though, just like the stories of Hunter and the baby were initially denied – for many months:

A spokesperson for John Edwards is denying reports that the onetime senator has asked his former mistress, Rielle Hunter, to marry him.

“It’s absolutely not true,” says a spokesperson for Edwards, of a story in the National Enquirer that claims the two plan to wed after his divorce from Elizabeth Edwards is complete.

Though the former senator acknowledged last month that he is the father of a 2-year-old girl with Hunter, a spokesperson for Edwards says he and Hunter don’t communicate directly any longer.

“They only communicate through a third party,” to work out Edwards visitation, the spokesperson says, and when the former presidential candidate visits daughter Frances Quinn, Hunter is not present.

John and Elizabeth Edwards separated at the end of December, and are now living apart. “Everybody is trying to move on with their lives,” says his spokesperson.

Edwards had previously denied National Enquirer stories about his affair with Hunter and the paternity of their daughter.

[From People]

The recent detail that really floored me about this story is the fact that there’s a real sex tape between Edwards and a then-pregnant Hunter, and that Edwards former aide, Andrew Young, just handed it over by court order. I always assumed the sex tape rumors were untrue, maybe because I didn’t want to think too much about it, but Young has the tape and was keeping it in a safe deposit box in Atlanta. (Young initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s baby in a paid bid to take the heat off Edwards. He says that he found the sex tape in an abandoned box in a home he once shared with Hunter.) Let’s hope the tape is never, ever leaked.

In regards to Edwards’ alleged proposal, if he’s smart he’ll stay single for the rest of his life. He’s already proven that’s not the case, though, and I can see him getting married again and regretting it. Elizabeth has hopefully lawyered up by now and is looking forward to being awarded half the assets her husband made during their over 30 year marriage. Maybe John-boy will have two alimony payments to make by the time he’s 60.

Unlike the other weeklies’ obsession with all things Uncool Bermuda Triangle, People magazine decided to run with Elizabeth Edwards for their cover this week. The whole thing – I would assume, since People hasn’t released their cover story online – is that Elizabeth is going to admit that she and John are pretty much split up, especially now that John has finally publicly admitted that Rielle Hunter’s daughter is his. So, Elizabeth has reached her “breaking point” and “finally sends him packing”. Eh.

Meanwhile, the National Enquirer continues to be all over this story. They reported yesterday that John Edwards was being a cheapskate about paying for daughter Quinn’s medical care, and there continue to be rumors about that John-and-Rielle sex tape. And now today they released a story about Elizabeth Edwards’ “suicide attempt”. Although, not really, she was just thinking about taking an overdose of pills when she heard about John‘s affair, which I can kind of understand. I mean, I can understand thinking about it, I am in no way advocating suicide, for goodness sake. Here’s more:

“I’M GOING TO KILL MYSELF!” John Edwards’ distraught wife Elizabeth screamed those horrifying words during a suicide attempt after finding out her husband’s mistress was pregnant with his love child, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

Pushed to the brink by the disgraced two time presidential loser’s cheating, lying and cover-up, the long-suffering breast cancer patient was finally shoved over the edge when she learned that campaign “worker” Rielle Hunter was carrying the ex-senator’s baby.

In the latest shocking revelation from the Edwards scandal, sources disclosed to The ENQUIRER behind-the-scenes details of the hushed-up 2007 incident – breaking their silence after Edwards on Jan. 21 finally confirmed the paternity of his nearly 2-year-old daughter, Frances Quinn.

After impregnating Rielle, the ex-senator concocted a bizarre cover-up involving Andrew Young, a trusted campaign aide who falsely claimed to be the father. A very convenient patsy, say political insiders.

And now Young has revealed this heart-wrenching confrontation in his tell-all book The Politician. But when Elizabeth learned the truth, she felt “completely betrayed,” disclosed an insider. She was so upset she became suicidal, say sources close to the couple.

“Elizabeth locked herself in their bedroom and shouted at John from behind the door, ‘I’m going to kill myself!’” disclosed a friend. “She added: ‘It’s ALL your fault!’

“Elizabeth later confessed she was going to swallow an overdose of painkillers to end her tortured life. She apparently ran to the medicine cabinet and emptied some pill bottles in a fury. She confessed that she actually had a handful of pills in her hand and was about to ingest them when she suddenly broke down in tears.”

The heart-wrenching suicide attempt was the climax of several painful blows inflicted by Edwards on his gravely ill wife – who had considered taking her life in the past, say insiders.

“Elizabeth once confessed that she first thought about suicide after John initially told her he cheated with Rielle,” the close source divulged. “Elizabeth said her cancer was killing her slowly, but John had broken her heart beyond repair.”

[From The National Enquirer]

For a while now, I’ve had very mixed feelings about Elizabeth. I didn’t care for the way she handled John’s affair initially, when she was basically giving John a free pass in public, while bashing Rielle Hunter as “pathetic” and giving the impression that she (Elizabeth) put most of the blame of the affair on Rielle. Now… I still have mixed feelings about all of that, but I do still have sympathy for Elizabeth. She’s been having a horrible few years, and she doesn’t have much time left. I think she’s just now realizing what a piece of sh-t she was married to all of these years, and she doesn’t really know what to do.

People cover courtesy of CoverAwards.

Well, I am shocked, just shocked! Imagine me, clutching my pearls and reaching for the smelling salts right at this very moment, because I don’t think I can even handle this completely new piece of information! It turns out that John Edwards has done the unthinkable – he’s confirmed that he’s the father of Rielle Hunter’s daughter Quinn! But… I thought…?

Yes, all of that was dripping with sarcasm, because anyone who has been reading this site (or any gossip or political site) for the past few years knows that Edwards was the father of Quinn. The fact that he lied about it (and for so long!) and that he thought we were stupid enough to buy his lies only makes him more despicable in my book. If you’d like just a cursory review of all of the crap that’s come out about Edwards and his lies, just take a glance through our John Edwards archives. There is seriously so much dirt about this douche bag, I can’t even begin to summarize. Anyway, Edwards finally admitted the truth about Quinn’s paternity in a brief statement to NBC, which People has:

Two-time former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has finally admitted he is the father of 2-year-old child of his former mistress, Rielle Hunter, it was announced by NBC News on Thursday’s Today show.

Attorneys for the former North Carolina senator say he’s been providing financial support for 2-year-old Quinn for about a year, and Edwards has recently signed a child-support agreement with Hunter.

In a statement to NBC, Edwards says: “I am Quinn’s father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.”

He continues: “It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future. To all those I have disappointed and hurt these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”

Earlier Denials
In August 2008, Edwards, after earlier denials that he was involved in an extramarital relationship, confirmed that he did have an affair with Hunter, a videographer he met on his 2008 campaign.

At the time, Edwards, now 56, denied ever having loved Hunter or having fathered her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.

Until Edwards’s new declaration, former campaign aide Andrew Young has maintained that he was the father of the child.

Last year, Edwards said that Hunter accompanied him around the U.S. and to Africa. He also said his wife, Elizabeth, and other family members became aware of the relationship in 2006. Edwards stressed that his wife’s cancer was in remission when he began the affair.

Elizabeth Edwards, 60, is battling breast cancer, first diagnosed in 2004. After initial treatment, Elizabeth announced in 2007 that her cancer had returned and is incurable.

Elizabeth has said that learning of her husband’s affair made her physically ill. Speaking to Oprah Winfrey last May, she described her feelings toward her husband as “complicated.”

The Edwards are now said to be living apart, according to NBC News, which also reported that he is keeping a low profile as an investigation takes place to see if federal funds might have been used to cover up the scandal.

Elizabeth Edwards, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, learned last summer that Quinn is her husband’s child, said a spokesperson.

[From People Magazine]

Here’s the thing – I don’t even buy John’s statement as the complete truth. I don’t think he really cares about Rielle or Quinn or his family, especially since he’s still out there trying to sleep with whatever random women will have him. I think he only cares about himself, while also carrying with him some very self-destructive qualities. Some of the Washington pundits (like Mark Halperin, who co-authored Game Change) were discussing Edwards on Morning Joe this morning, and I had forgotten just how big of an a-hole Edwards was through the 2007-2008 presidential primaries and general election. If you go back, he was still engaged in an affair with Rielle, she was pregnant, then she gave birth to his child, all while Edwards was trying to convince people he should be the Democratic nominee. Then, after Quinn was born, he was still trying to convince Obama (then the Dem nominee) to pick him as vice president. Oh, and then Edwards still wanted to speak at the Democratic convention, even after he admitted his affair! This guy is delusional, and he has proven yet again that he’s scum.

Johan & Elizabeth on the campaign trail. Screencap image of Rielle, via a YouTube clip from Extra.

On the heels of new revelations about John and Elizabeth Edwards’ marriage from the new book Game Change, the National Enquirer has another scoop: John is still a f-cking douchebag. Shocking! Considering the Enquirer broke the story about John’s affair with Rielle Hunter, and the subsequent love child Frances, I’m totally believing this story. Also, it seems the Enquirer got (paid) for an exclusive interview with this bartender woman who claims that John Edwards hit on her multiple times. Beware, this story is really sleazy:

ENQUIRER WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Cheating killed his political career, destroyed his reputation and left his marriage hanging by a thread – but John Edwards has done IT again! The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that the philandering ex-senator embarked on a “sex-and-booze bender” after what appeared to be a marriage-ending blowout fight with his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth.

While still publicly not admitting paternity of his love child – who turns 2 in February – the disgraced former presidential candidate shocked eyewitnesses by recently spending several consecutive nights trawling bars in search of women.

Before booting her shameless husband from their home after Christmas, Elizabeth screamed at John that she was “finally signing” the divorce papers she had her lawyers draw up last year during a previous battle over his relationship with Rielle Hunter, the mother of his baby.

Edwards fled to the couple’s vacation home on Figure Eight Island near Wilmington, N.C. – and attempted to bed a female bartender as well as bar patrons young enough to be his daughter, say shocked witnesses.

In a bombshell exclusive interview with The ENQUIRER, bartender Stephanie Breshears revealed that Edwards repeatedly tried to get her to go back to his house for sex. The 34-year-old divorced mother-of-two said Edwards hit on her “for four consecutive nights” at the local Kornerstone Bistro, where she works.

“I think he’s scum,” Stephanie told The ENQUIRER. “He was definitely looking to pick up women when he came in here – and he wanted me to go back to his house.”

Stephanie revealed she first met Edwards last August when he arrived at the Kornerstone, five miles from his vacation home, with wife Elizabeth and the couple’s 27-year-old daughter Cate.

“But that night was very busy, and I didn’t have a lot of time to socialize,” said the pretty bartender. “I didn’t see any of them again until John Edwards came in on Dec. 30 – the first of four consecutive nights.

“He said he’d been thinking about me since he and his wife were in last summer. He said I had run through his mind ‘time and time’ again. He said I was ‘attractive.’

“He asked what I was doing after work and I told him I had plans with friends. But he told me he was staying on Figure Eight Island, and that I should join him.”

Incredibly, just minutes after giving Stephanie his phone number, Edwards started flirting with another woman – right in front of Stephanie.

“He told her he was ‘separated, soon to be divorced,’” the sexy bartender divulged.

[From The National Enquirer]

It sounds believable, right? I think this happened. Although, it’s not really a “cheating scandal” since they didn’t sleep together. Or is it? Is propositioning a woman multiple times and asking her to come over to his house considered cheating? Yes. So, in that case it is a “cheating scandal” although this one lacks A) penetration and B) a love child. Still douchey, though. Oh, and I really wonder who was more upset by this – John’s wife or his mistress Rielle?

For the past few days, the world of politics and the world of tabloid gossip have been intertwined on in the news because of the publication of the book Game Change, written by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilman. It’s a behind-the-scenes account of every major primary and presidential campaign from the 2007-08 political season. Over the weekend, most people were discussing the revelations that Sen. Harry Reid was (and could still be) the kind of man who casually remarks things like “Barack Obama is a light skinned African-American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” There are lots of political bombshells and juicy gossip, and if you’d like to know more, I suggest you simply tune in to CNN, MSNBC or Fox, because they’re all doing wall-to-wall coverage.

What I didn’t hear this weekend, and only began hearing this morning, was the new information about former Senator John Edwards, his wife Elizabeth and his mistress and baby-mama Rielle Hunter. There are new details about that scandal, and since we’ve been covering every sordid detail that comes out of the Enquirer, I thought we’d bring some more information:

Cancer-ridden Elizabeth Edwards ripped open her shirt screaming “Look at me!” at a terrified John Edwards after his affair with Rielle Hunter was first exposed by The ENQUIRER, a new book reveals.

Game Change [sic] an inside account of the 2008 Presidential Race by John Heilman and Mark Halperin reveals shocking new details about the John Edwards cheating scandal.

In the book, Edwards is described as an out-of-control narcissistic who became an egomaniac after meeting future mistress Rielle Hunter. His affair with Hunter, who told people she was a “witch”, was an open secret among his chief advisers — three who quit early in the campaign.

John Edwards is described as delusional while the public image of “saintly Elisabeth’s public persona” is shattered. Openly battling with John in front of aides, she belittled her “intellectually inferior” hubby in front of campaign workers.

Insiders describe her as “an abusive, intrusive, paranoid condescending crazy woman,” according to the book.

When The ENQUIRER first revealed the affair, John and Elizabeth fought violently in the parking lot of an airport terminal.

“Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse exposing herself. ‘Look at ME!’ she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground,” the authors recount.

In the wake of Edwards dismissal of The ENQUIRER’s investigation as “tabloid trash” it was only after The ENQUIRER’s world exclusive “spy photo” appeared in print and online of the disgraced candidate holding his love child by Hunter that Edwards admitted the affair, denying paternity, on national TV.

“Confronted then with the ENQUIRER photo of her husband cuddling Hunter’s baby, she insisted to (an aide) that she still believed he was not the father.”

‘I have to believe it,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Because if I don’t, it means I’m married to a monster.’”

With former loyalist and pretend daddy Andrew Young’s insider tell-all of the affair and the cover-up to be published next month AND the ongoing federal probe into Edwards’ use of political campaign funds to engineer payoffs to his mistress, for John Edwards the worst is YET to come.

[From The National Enquirer]

The Enquirer also got a scoop that was picked up by other media outlets: that Elizabeth was planning on meeting Frances, the daughter of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. The Enquirer’s sources claimed: “Elizabeth feels that above all else, John and Rielle need to put their differences aside… As much as she hates that John has a second family, she can’t stand the idea of Rielle going public with their dirty laundry in court. She instructed John to have his lawyers call Rielle’s people and say they’re giving her what she wants. She’s also going to meet Rielle’s little girl face to face over the next few weeks.” The sources also claim that Elizabeth has a “soft spot” for Frances and that “Despite her anger at Rielle, who she’s painted as a stalker and a homewrecker, Elizabeth knows Frances didn’t bring any of this about…Elizabeth sometimes breaks down in tears when she talks about Frances. Once she said, ‘She needs a daddy.’”

With the mainstream media still picking up stories that the Enquirer broke – not just in regards to the Edwards’ family, but also the Tiger Woods drama – you’ve got to wonder if the Enquirer might be getting some love sent their way. On that note, it seems that some political blogger (Emily Miller of Politics Daily.com) thinks that the Enquirer should get a Pulitzer for breaking the John Edwards story. Hmm…

The National Enquirer is keeping the dirt coming on the John Edwards debacle. The former Democratic party poster boy isn’t getting along with the mother of the child he’s been denying to the public. According to the Enquirer, Edwards was about to finally admit paternity of Rielle Hunter’s 20 month-old daughter, Frances. He even bought Rielle and Frances a house in Charlotte, North Carolina at Rielle’s insistence. She was all packed and ready to move in when Edwards saw how greedy she was getting and decided not to let her move in. Rielle had requested $18,000 a month in child support, and John wasn’t having it.

Top secret documents obtained exclusively by The ENQUIRER provide undeniable proof that John Edwards is the father of his mistress’ love child – and show that she’s asking for nearly $18,000 a month in support!

But Rielle Hunter’s cash grab so infuriated the disgraced presidential candidate that, sources say, he basically tossed her and their daughter out on the street just days before they were set to move into a house he’d bought for them!

The ENQUIRER has also learned Edwards had been preparing to publicly admit he is the baby’s father. But now that their child support negotiations have taken an ugly turn, Rielle is ready to drag the former North Carolina senator into court, insiders say.

“John thought he had sweetened the deal by getting Rielle a house, but she didn’t think what he’d offered to pay in regular support for their daughter was fair,” an insider disclosed.

“John was so angry that he wouldn’t let Rielle move into the house, even with a moving van full of her belongings en route.

“So a week after Thanksgiving, Rielle found herself without a place to live – and no agreement with John for their daughter’s long-term support. She’s absolutely furious, and may take the whole thing public!”

The abrupt breakdown between Edwards, 56, and the 45-year-old blonde divorcee came as he was preparing a statement that would finally publicly confirm he’d fathered Rielle’s daughter Frances, sources say.

[From The National Enquirer]

And here’s the breakdown of Rielle’s “expenses” from the Enquirer’s print edition:

The document identified “custody and “child support” as the issues in dispute, and names Rielle and “John Edwards” of Chapel Hill, N.C., as the parents of “Frances Quinn Hunter” born Feb 27, 2008.

It lists in detail both “current” and “anticipated” monthly expenses for Rielle and her daughter. The biggest “anticipated” expense is a $3,000 monthly mortgage payment for a home purchased “either by Defendant or a Trust.”

Adding in household expenses, a cell phone and cable TV, Rielle claimed to need $4,485 a month to cover her basic costs.

As for “personal” needs, Rielle lists $800 for eating at “restaurants,” $250 for “hair care,” $400 for “domestic held,” $300 for “sports and hobbies,” $1,5000 for “preschool,” $2,100 for “baby-sitting,” $1,200 for a “security guart” and other expenses that total $12,850.

Throw in $575 for “transportation” costs on her 2004 BMW SUV, and Rielle claims she’ll need $17,910 a month to live and raise her child!

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 21, 2009]

Does this woman work, because why would she need $1,200 for a baby sitter and $400 for domestic help if she’s collecting enough free money to live on? You would think she could make due with less help. Does she really need a $250 dye job every month and $800 just to eat out? She got greedy and now she’s going to have to go to court to get a more reasonable settlement. If John is really swimming in cash he should pay up, though. In a way I don’t really care what happens as Rielle’s a gold-digger and John’s a liar who deserves to get taken to the cleaners. I used to look up to the guy but it’s clear that he’s been duplicitous with his supporters and the public. A federal grand jury is still looking into whether Edwards misappropriated campaign funds to pay off Hunter and a former aid, Andrew Young, who initially claimed to be the father of Hunter’s baby. Depending on how that case turns out Edwards might not be able to afford even a fraction of Hunter’s alleged monthly expenses.

On Monday, we talked about the latest revelations coming out of Andrew Young’s book proposal. Young was the John Edwards campaign aide who was part of the Rielle Hunter cover up, and he’s been selling his story piece by piece for months, with some of the most sordid information out there. Monday was a big day in the Edwards’ ongoing drama – Andrew Young (or sources close to him) alleged that Rielle Hunter wasn’t the only woman John Edwards had an affair with, which is a claim I totally believe. Apparently, John was bangin’ lots of women on the campaign trail, according to Young, and I would guess that John was probably cheating on Elizabeth for many years.

The second part of Monday’s revelations came from a Rush & Malloy report that basically claimed that Elizabeth Edwards was going crazy, that she was commenting on blogs (using the name “Cherubim”) that called Rielle Hunter every name out there. Elizabeth also allegedly threatened Andrew Young and his family, and blamed Rielle for almost everything. I tend to believe parts of that story – I think Elizabeth is definitely lying to protect her husband and her family, and I think she’s very distraught. I had been hoping this whole time that Elizabeth would grow a set and just leave John. I know, I know – she’s trying to keep her family together, et cetera. But at this point, in my mind, divorce would be a blessing for Elizabeth. According to the Enquirer (the publication that broke so many of the Edwards stories), Elizabeth is finally done – she’s ready to file for divorce and take every penny of John’s fortune:

Elizabeth Edwards has finally had enough – she’s threatened to divorce her cheating husband John and claim her share of their $53 million fortune!

The ENQUIRER has learned Elizabeth dropped the divorce bombshell after learning a former campaign aide is claiming Rielle Hunter, the mother of Edwards’ love child, isn’t the only woman he seduced on the campaign trail!

Furious at his betrayals, Elizabeth – still battling Stage 4 breast cancer – has vowed to destroy her husband of 32 years by disclosing everything she knows about his political career in divorce court, insiders say.

“Elizabeth had always sworn she wouldn’t divorce John. But every person has a breaking point, and Elizabeth’s friends believe she’s reached hers,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.

“Elizabeth made it clear to John that she will take him for everything he’s got. She will divorce him and claim their $53 million fortune.

“Elizabeth knows every dirty little secret in her husband’s political past. She’s been his confidant for years, and she’s always kept quiet. But now she’s prepared to reveal all his secrets in open court.”

Elizabeth’s patience finally ran out when she learned about the scandalous claims in a tell-all book by her husband’s former campaign aide Andrew Young, the married father of three who once claimed that he’d fathered Rielle’s child in a bid to protect his boss.

“Elizabeth was read portions of Young’s book proposal, and she flipped out,” said the source.

“What really pushed her over the edge is Young’s allegation that John had other affairs with women on the campaign trail. Elizabeth basically told John that if she found out that was true, she’d have to divorce him because then he’d be a ‘serial cheater.’ John claims Young’s book is a pack of lies.”

[From the National Enquirer]

Elizabeth is so the person I want to root for in this story, and she’s been disappointing me so much. That’s why I hope this is true. I know a lot of people would applaud Elizabeth for sticking with John through the worst, but I look at it a different way – what is Elizabeth teaching her children by staying with John, lying for him and blaming “the other woman” for all of the problems in her marriage? I think her kids will totally understand why their mother finally kicked their dad out of the house, if this divorce report is true.

We’ve been getting information from Andrew Young’s book proposal in drips and drabs for the past few months. Young is the former John Edwards campaign staffer who fell on his sword for Edwards, and claimed paternity of Rielle Hunter’s daughter – when everyone pretty much assumed John Edwards is the father. Young also got paid off in a big way – but now he’s trying to sell his story about what really happened between John, Elizabeth and Rielle. Previously, we’ve heard about John’s desire to move Rielle and her daughter closer to him, to his North Carolina neighborhood. We’ve also heard that John proposed to Rielle, and promised her a wedding in New York.

The new scandal (still part of Andrew Young’s continuing revelations) is that Rielle Hunter wasn’t the only woman John had an affair with. Shocking! Not really. That man seems as sleazy as they come. According to the National Enquirer, Young told the grand jury investigating Edwards that “Edwards had affairs with several other women along the campaign trail besides better known mistress Hunter.” Oh, but that’s not even the end of this week’s revelations. NYDN’s Rush & Malloy also have some additional scoops on Elizabeth Edwards, and how (allegedly) crazy she is with the scope of the scandal:

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is said to be ready to admit that he fathered a love child. But Hades may have a skating rink before his wife, Elizabeth, signs off on such a confession.

As a grand jury in North Carolina considers whether Edwards misused campaign funds to cover up the scandal, Elizabeth still can’t abide his former mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Word is Elizabeth vehemently opposed the plan, now in place, for Hunter and daughter Quinn to move from New Jersey to Wilmington, N.C., where the Edwardses have a beach house.

For months now, Elizabeth, who is said to be talking to a divorce lawyer, also has been sniping at Hunter – painting her as a blackmailing gold digger – in blog comments where she uses the pseudonym “Cherubim,” according to a source who knows Elizabeth.

Though “Cherubim” has recently described herself as an African-American woman, the source insists, “It’s Elizabeth. She’s used ‘cherubim’ as a password. Look at the gravestone of their son Wade: It’s an angel holding a boy.”

“Cherubim” has also heaped scorn on estranged Edwards aide Andrew Young, who is working on a book in which he’s due to reveal that Edwards and wealthy supporters paid him to claim that he fathered Quinn.

In a proposal for the book, Young contends that Elizabeth blamed him for helping her husband carry on the affair and forced Young to quit the campaign. He also alleges that Elizabeth left taunting messages on his family’s answering machine – telling his wife, Cheri, that Rielle supposedly had slept with Young and that she was likely to again.

Along with claiming that Edwards and Hunter made a sex tape, the proposal alleges:
* Edwards had had affairs with other women on the campaign trail.
* When Edwards was forced to call off a birthday date with Hunter because he found out that Elizabeth’s cancer had returned, an unsympathetic Hunter screamed at him.
* After learning of the affair, Elizabeth made John sleep in their barn though she would wake him up with accusatory rants.
* Hunter relied on a California psychic named Bob to tell her where to live and what to do.
* Edwards had little affection for John Kerry – once comparing him to Richie Rich – but changed his tune when the Democratic presidential nominee tapped him as his running mate.
* Ted Kennedy once told Young about a would-be assassin who managed to get into his Senate office because one of his bodyguards was having a gay liaison with one of his top aides.

Elizabeth’s publicist and lawyers for John Edwards and Hunter declined comment.

[From Rush & Malloy]

I honestly don’t know about all of the other stuff – yes, I’ll buy that John cheated on Elizabeth multiple times, with multiple women. I doubt the campaign trail was even the first time he strayed. But I find the whole “Cherubim” story sketchy as all hell. I want to believe that Elizabeth is a lot classier than that. But I’ve been disappointed before. Elizabeth seemed to lay the overwhelming bulk of the blame for the affair on Rielle’s shoulders, describing Rielle as “pathetic” while giving John a pass for the most part in her last book. I also feel pretty strongly that Elizabeth has been lying about the paternity test in several of her latest interviews. Who knows?