John Edwards has been indicted for misusing campaign funds to set up his mistress and lovechild in luxury while paying off a campaign aid to claim paternity of the baby. This means that he’s been formally charged and can either work out a plea deal with the prosecution or go to trail. (Kaiser explained all this to me much more clearly than I could ever understand on my own, so credit to her for that explanation!) The L.A. Times reports that Edwards has been refusing to plead guilty and has refused several plea deals so far. Here’s the story from People:

A federal grand jury has charged John Edwards with breaking campaign finance laws by using political funds to cover up his affair and out-of-wedlock child with Rielle Hunter while he was running for president in 2008.

He was indicted Friday in North Carolina on six counts, including conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions and one count of false statements. Edwards is expected to make a court appearance Friday afternoon in Winston Salem Middle District Courthouse.

At issue is money that was paid to Hunter and onetime Edwards aide Andrew Young to keep Edwards’s affair and love child a secret. Young even at one point claimed paternity of the girl, Quinn, though Edwards later admitted he was the father.

Investigators claim the funds paid to Hunter and Young from outside political groups and Edwards donors should be considered campaign donations since they aided Edwards’s presidential bid.

Edwards, 57, is said to want to put the episode behind him, one way or another. A source close to the former senator told PEOPLE in January: “John’s optimistic nothing is going to come of it, but even if not, he’s like, ‘Let’s get there, already.’ ”

The revelations of the affair and love child destroyed what was once viewed as a promising political career.

[From People]

I’m glad this is moving forward and that Edwards will have to answer for getting a campaign donor to fund his coverup. He’s allegedly still hitting up that same elderly benefactor for money to help with his defense, according to the Enquirer.

The National Enquirer scooped everyone for months on the John Edwards secret lovechild scandal, and they have more insider details on how Edwards is faring now. They say that his space cadet mistress, Rielle Hunter, has all but abandoned him and told him that she doesn’t want to help him with this case at all. She dumped his ass and he’s trying to cut her off from the money. It’s all too predictable and sad, considering that his cancer stricken wife didn’t get to see Edwards get his ass handed to him before she died. Here’s a segment from the Enquirer article:

“When John found out that he was close to being indicted, he begged Rielle to cover for him,” the close source divulged.

“He didn’t flat out ask her to lie, but he was hoping she would say and do whatever it takes to keep him from going to jail. He even begged Rielle to marry him right away in front of a justice of the peace.

“But Rielle thought that John’s marriage proposal was just another way to protect himself. She thought if she was his wife, she wouldn’t have to testify against him in a criminal trial.

“After screaming that he was ‘pathetic’ and a ‘coward,’ Rielle told John she was through taking chances for him. He cried to her, ‘I don’t want to go to jail!’ But she didn’t care. She went ahead and dumped him – and their relationship is pretty much over. There’s no repairing it now…

After Rielle stabbed him in the back, Edwards once again turned to his elderly benefactor… for a private meeting on May 26, say insiders…

“John is so angry at Rielle… that he’s cut her off financially on everything but her legal bills for the case and her $6,000 a month child support,” the close source revealed.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, June 13, 2011]

I doubt Edwards will end up going to jail, but at least Rielle put her foot down and he’s facing some consequences for lying and scamming. Stories last year had him drunkenly trolling for women in college bars. Rielle was right when she called him pathetic.

The National Enquirer’s cover story this week is yet another epic John Edwards piece. You will remember that the Enquirer was the outlet to break the Edwards affair story, getting the first published photo of John with his love child by Rielle Hunter. The Enquirer has spent a lot of time and money covering the Edwards saga – they have sources deep within the Edwards camp, I believe, and they have consistently broken news about the Edwards family, and all of the legal stuff that surrounds this mess.

Okay, so let’s get into it. First, a piece of information that was widely reported and verified, but that the Enquirer reported first: Elizabeth left John out of her will. Just a week before her death, Elizabeth had a new will filed with her lawyers, and she left all of her money and possessions to her three children. People Mag points out that John is currently living in the home they shared in North Carolina. Now, since the Enquirer story is epic, I’m just going to do bullet points:

*John Edwards proposed to Rielle Hunter just three weeks after burying Elizabeth, while on holiday with Rielle and his kids. He pledged his love to Rielle and promised that eventually they would all “become one big happy family,” says a source.

*During the holidays, John introduced his children to Rielle. Rielle told the children to “call me Mommy.”

*All of this is in direct violation of Elizabeth’s dying wishes. A source says: “This is the absolute last thing in the world Elizabeth wanted… Rielle is the woman she once labeled ‘pathetic’ and ‘a home wrecker’ and a ‘blackmailing golddigger.’ She did not want John to introduce their kids to his love child – let alone Rielle. She never wanted her kids anywhere near that woman!”

*Elizabeth’s estate is worth an estimated $53 million, all of which is left to her children. Elizabeth also tried to revise her will to ban John from letting their kids meet Rielle and daughter Quinn. Elizabeth and John’s daughter Cate is charged with making sure Elizabeth’s wishes are honored.

*While John did spent Christmas day in Chapel Hill with Elizabeth’s family and his three oldest children, just a few days later, he packed up Cate, Jack and Emma and drove them to Charlotte, NC to meet Rielle. He invited Rielle and Quinn to dinner with the other kids, and introduced them.

*A source says: “John had convinced Cate that the meeting was inevitable – and better they get past it now than wait… Rielle cried with joy when she saw all the children together for the very first time. She had been waiting for this meeting for a very long time – but knew it wouldn’t come until after Elizabeth’s death.”

*The reactions? “It all went off without a hitch. Before you knew it, Jack and Emma were playing with Quinn, and Cate was civil toward Rielle.”

*To cap off the occasion, John proposed. “John pledged his undying love… but nothing is official yet.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition]

Ugh, what is there to say, really? John Edwards is a piece of crap, a moron, a jagoff, and whatever other slur you want to throw at him. But I have to say one little teeny tiny thing… while I understand why Elizabeth was so adamant that her children never meet Rielle or Quinn, I have to admit, it’s not a completely rotten idea for Jack and Emma to meet their half-sibling. Better to be honest about that kind of stuff, especially since Quinn is just an innocent little girl. However, all of the Rielle junk… Gawd, this bitch. And John is still so… dumb. Rielle is psychotic, really and truly. And she doesn’t deserve to have those kids in her life.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Rielle Hunter photos courtesy of GQ.

Can I admit something? I’m impressed that thus far, John Edwards hasn’t come out with his weepy douche-face on, whining about Elizabeth’s passing. I thought he would do that right away – take a stroll in front of the cameras, cry a little for his public. The fact that he hasn’t makes me think that maybe a small part of him “gets it” you know? Gets that we don’t want to see his dumbass, gets that a lot of people still harbor nasty feelings towards him about the whole Rielle Hunter situation. Speaking of Rielle, Radar reports that she’s all excited now that Elizabeth is dead. Sorry, I should have warned you that a dry heave was coming. Yes, Rielle thinks that because Elizabeth has finally passed away, now she and “Johnny” are going to get hitched. She even thinks people should be impressed by her patience!

As friends and family mourn the passing of Elizabeth Edwards, the mistress of her estranged husband John Edwards continues to hold out hope that she and the former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination can finally be together.

A source close to the mistress Rielle Hunter and to the Edwards family exclusively told RadarOnline.com: “Rielle has been very patient through all of this. She still believes that John is her soul mate, and she thinks that they’re going to get married.”

That’s a sentiment that’s sure to anger many who loved Elizabeth and applauded her courage while dealing with a husband who cheated on her as she battled cancer. On Tuesday, Elizabeth, 61, passed away after a six-year struggle with cancer. She was surrounded by friends and family who rushed to her side after the shocking announcement that her doctors believed any further medical treatment would be futile.

The source revealed that Hunter has been closely watching Elizabeth’s situation.

“She doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She’s been selfish and horrible this whole time, no matter what else has been said about her,” the source said.

Hunter currently lives in a home paid for by John Edwards. She lives there with their young daughter Quinn, the child John originally denied was his, even when the National Enquirer busted him visiting Rielle and Quinn in a Beverly Hills hotel.

As for how Rielle will respond publicly to the news that Elizabeth has passed away, the source said they doubted what she said would be heartfelt.

“She will say nice things about Elizabeth, but only if it makes her look good,” the source added.

[From Radar]

Yeah, I totally don’t doubt the validity of this story. If I learned anything from watching Rielle in that Oprah interview, it’s that she’s as delusional and vapid as they come. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn that she’s making Elizabeth’s death all about RIELLE. My guess is that as soon as Elizabeth’s death was announced, Rielle was on the phone to Johnny to offer her “sympathy” plus a little reminder that now they could get married.

GQ photos of Rielle courtesy of GQ online.

The National Enquirer has a report that I think will amuse many of us. According to their sources, Rielle Hunter is “cheating” on her lover, former senator John Edwards. They don’t really say who Rielle is boning, only that she’s traveled to Hollywood to “try to look up some famous former boyfriends.” Like Matt LeBlanc?!? And JOHN CUSACK? Bitch, hands off the Cusack. LaBlanc you can have though, if you want him.

In a shocking new twist to the biggest political scandal in recent history, RIELLE HUNTER is being unfaithful to JOHN EDWARDS, the father of their love child.

The ENQUIRER has learned that the disgraced presidential candidate and his 46-year-old mistress had a major blowout after she traveled to Hollywood recently and tried to look up some famous former boyfriends.

The ex-videographer tried to reach out to Friends hunk Matt LeBlanc and Gross Pointe Blank star John Cusack, an insider told The ENQUIRER.

“Rielle decided to contact her old flames.”

The star-chaser boasted to a pal that “if she can’t marry John Edwards, then marrying a famous actor is high up in those dreams of hers!”

Although Rielle struck out, it wasn’t from lack of trying, sources say. She’s even telling friends that she wants to rekindle an old romance with Matt LeBlanc. But some sources think that by pursuing anything with these actors, Rielle is cheating on Edwards.

As for John Cusack, Rielle couldn’t find him either when she went to LA. But she continues to brag that she and Cusack dated years ago, after being introduced by a friend.

[From The National Enquirer]

How does this play into people’s sense of instant karma? Yes, it makes me incredibly happy to think that John Edwards’ lover/mistress/girlfriend is screwing around on him. By where is Rielle’s instant karma? Will she pay in the end? Or do delusional hoes never “get theirs” in the end?

Also: The Enquirer claims Rielle also dated Jeff Goldblum and Kiefer Sutherland. Bitch got around. And not all of it was bad. What is it with men and delusional hoes?

The National Enquirer has a juicy piece this week about how Elizabeth Edwards is planning a trip to Japan with her husband, John, which of course has his space cadet mistress in a rage. During her media tour promoting the re-release of her book earlier this month, Elizabeth showed how passive aggressive and in denial she is by confirming that she had not yet granted John a divorce because she tells him “Until you want to get married again, I don’t have a need.” She also never questioned John or called him out for cheating on her or carousing in bars. Elizabeth seemed to have an excuse for all of her husband’s lying and bad behavior. When it came to whether John was still seeing the dumbass mistress who fathered his love child, Elizabeth said “I know what John tells me, which is ‘under no circumstances.’ But obviously, I’m the last person in the world who knows the truth about these things.” Give me a break, lady!

Anyway the Enquirer writes that Elizabeth of course wants John back and has planned “sentimental trip” with him to Japan, where she lived for nine years. John is going with her and telling Rielle that it means nothing and that he’s not still sleeping with Elizabeth, just like he tells Elizabeth about Rielle. This of course angers Rielle, who thinks that John is her cosmic soulmate who just happens to have a wife with cancer who is the mother of his four children.

[John Edwards] is accompanying his cancer-stricken wife on a sentimental trip to Japan, and that’s enraged his mistress Rielle Hunter, say insiders.

When the ex-senator informed her of his decision, “she flew into a jealous rage,” a close source told The Enquirer.

“Her first question was, ‘Where will you sleep?’ John assured Rielle that he and Elizabeth would have separate sleeping – but she wasn’t buying it. She doesn’t trust John, and she told him so.”

Despite Elizabeth’s criticism against John [ed note: what criticism?] on TV and in her book, Rielle still thinks she “will try whatever it takes to win John back,” said the source.

Rielle also fears the more time he spends away from her and their 2 year-old daughter Quinn, the more he’ll enjoy his old family life.

“John tried to calm Rielle, telling her he had to go to Japan to help Elizabeth with their children,” said the source. “But Rielle didn’t want to hear anything he had to say.”

Sadly, Elizabeth, 61, is losing her battle with stage 4 breast cancer. She’s traveling to Japan – where she lived for nine years when her dad was a navy pilot – and will visit old friends and special places from her childhood and high school years “before it’s too late,” says the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 26, 2010]

I wonder if Rielle likes how it feels to be the one who can’t trust the man she assumes is her committed partner. Elizabeth is in love with the partner and man that John used to be (or at least the guy she thought he was) and can’t reconcile herself with the man he is today. She sounds desperate to be loved and told Larry King earlier this month that she would probably “live out the rest of my days without someone… Holding me in a passionate way.” Elizabeth added that she gets lots of hugs and affection, but that it’s not the same “That other kind of affection may be behind me… I can’t imagine… circumstances where I would fall in love or that anyone would fall in love with me… And it is hard sometimes to think that that’s a part of my past.” [thanks to mln for the tip]

So Elizabeth is just trying to get her husband to pay attention to her again and to be romantic with her. As much as the guy is a lying, cheating SOB I hope he can show her some of the affection she yearns for. And I hope it really pisses off Rielle.

John Edwards is shown below on 1/16/08. Credit: PRPhotos. Rielle Hunter is shown on Oprah in April.

I had the chance to read Elizabeth Edwards’ full interview in People Magazine, which I believe is the second time she’s spoken on the record since her maybe-pending divorce was announced. (I say “on the record,” because People has likely run unsourced quotes from Elizabeth in earlier articles that directly quoted her sister.) Earlier this week Elizabeth made an appearance on The Today Show where she said she identified with Sandra Bullock and the way she wants to “reclaim” her identity after the press covered her husband’s infidelity. Unlike Sandra, Elizabeth hasn’t taken the high road though. She will call Rielle pathetic while praising and making excuses for her lying, cheating husband.

Despite filing for divorce, Elizabeth hasn’t called John out on his blatant lies. She also doesn’t intend to make the divorce final unless he forces her hand, and you know he won’t. In the People interview, she explains away his behavior, including recent reports that he’s been drunkenly picking up women in bars. She even says that John still insists he’s not seeing Rielle, and she doesn’t say she doubts him or thinks he’s a son of a bitch. All she says is that his “conduct through this whole thing was terrible… on a personal level, he’s paid a lot [for it].” On one hand she’s being gracious, on the other hand she never says that she was hurt or devastated or that she didn’t deserve to be treated like this. It’s all about John and how he feels.

When she’ll be divorcing John: when he tells her he wants to remarry
Elizabeth is separated from John (who lives nearby in a gated Hillborough, N.C., neighborhood) but is not bothering with divorce. “I say, ‘Until you want to get married again, I don’t have a need.’”

On National Enquirer reports that John is picking up women in bars
“He’s made friends, and I think it’s important for me to give him room to do that. It was hard [for him] to live with somebody who’s disappointed in him, so to find people who aren’t is a really healthy thing for him.”

On whether John is still seeing Rielle
“I know what John tells me, which is ‘under no circumstances.’ But obviously, I’m the last person in the world who knows the truth about these things.”

An excerpt from her book on “saying goodbye” to John
When I see John, I don’t just see the today that others see. I see all the memories – the look on his face when he held our children as newborns, and embarrassed pride as he showed his parents through our first house, the loving way he looked at me when we were with others, the soft and vulnerable way he looked at me and held me when we were alone. We have raised four children, and we have buried one. So when I closed the door on the John of today, I also had to say good-bye to that sweet man whom I had loved for so long. It was not as easy as it might have seemed to anyone looking in from the outside, who knew only the John of today. And I have to wonder if he is sad, too, when he thinks of that young man.

[From People Magazine, print edition, July 12, 2010]

It’s sad that Elizabeth is somehow blaming herself for her husband acting like a dog in heat. Read what she said “It was hard [for him] to live with somebody who’s disappointed in him.” It’s as if she didn’t have good cause to be “disappointed”! Hell she had good cause to kick his ass to the curb, take half his money and talk smack about him to every outlet in town. The guy lied on national television and continues to lie to her, and she doesn’t even seem to question him. Did she even see or hear about Rielle’s Oprah interview? I understand why this lady is still in denial about her husband’s actions, and I understand that she must be desperate to keep her family together as she faces cancer and perhaps the end of her life. I feel sorry for her, but more than that I want to somehow convince her that it’s not her fault that John did this to her and that she no longer has to worry about him. It’s time she took care of herself, and told John to go to hell. He may have been a great dad and partner for decades, but he’s no longer that person. She realizes that, but can’t let go and see reality.

Elizabeth’s biography, Resilience, was re-released June 29th after first coming out last year.

Yesterday, the NYDN had an interesting story about Elizabeth Edwards making preparations for her death – apparently, she’s not doing very well, and she’s begun to think about who will raise her two youngest children, Emma (12) and Jack (10). Of course, the obvious choice would be Emma and Jack’s father, John Edwards. But Elizabeth doesn’t want to take the chance that Rielle Hunter will be anywhere near her kids, and Elizabeth thinks there’s a good chance John will marry Rielle when Elizabeth dies. So Elizabeth’s ideal solution is to try to leave Emma and Jack in the care of the Edwards’ oldest daughter, Cate. Cate is 28 years old now, and living in Washington, D.C. Of course, most custody experts think that whatever plans Elizabeth is making to attempt to give custody to anyone other than John is for naught.

Elizabeth Edwards is said to be determined not to let her husband’s mistress become her children’s stepmom. Insiders tell us that John Edwards’ estranged wife is investigating how – should she lose her battle with cancer – she can keep daughter Emma, 12, and son Jack, 10, away from Rielle Hunter, the woman who broke up her marriage.

“She doesn’t want Rielle anywhere near them,” says a source.

Friends say Elizabeth is exploring the option of having her 28-year-old daughter, Cate, raise them.

“She’s a smart and competent woman,” says a source, noting that, having graduated from Harvard Law School, Cate has been clerking in federal court in Alexandria, Va. She owns a Georgetown row house and has been in a longterm relationship with a resident at Georgetown University Hospital.

Hard as it is to face the worst-case scenario, Elizabeth “has been grooming Cate to take over,” says a source.

Another source says Elizabeth has been forced to confront the question of guardianship because her health has “taken a turn for the worse lately.”

Her sister, Nancy Anania Sims, disputes that she’s suffered a setback.

“She is in treatment,” Sims tells us. “But she’s doing well. She’s from strong Italian stock. She has more energy than I do.”

Sims also doesn’t believe John Edwards will marry Hunter, with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter, Quinn. even though he’s now legally separated from Elizabeth.

Hunter has said that she and Edwards used to dream about what wedding they’d have after Elizabeth was gone. But, at this point, Sims says, “I find it impossible to believe [they'll marry]. That would surprise me.”

Sims doesn’t “think” Elizabeth has discussed Cate becoming her siblings’ guardian. But she corroborated that Elizabeth may be hoping to deprive her husband of custody.

“There are a lot of family members who are willing and able [to look after Jack and Emma],” says Sims, who might be one of them. “They’ll be well taken care of.”

John Edwards’ lawyer, Wade Smith, didn’t immediately return a phone call. But some attorneys who’ve been watching the Edwards drama believe that Elizabeth stands little chance of choosing Jack and Emma’s guardian.

“That’s ridiculous,” says New York attorney Peter Bronstein, whose star clients have included Guy Ritchie and Julian Schnabel. “The father would have the paramount right to succeed to the custody of his natural children.

“It would be very sad if Elizabeth Edwards isn’t around to see her children to adulthood. But she can’t rule from the grave and dictate whether they see their father and his girlfriend.”

The exception would be if the father was proven to be unfit – say, for instance, if Edwards were to go to jail. (A grand jury in North Carolina has been considering whether he illegally used campaign funds to cover up his affair with Hunter.)

“If a father was shown to be guilty of moral turpitude, he might lose custody,” Bronstein allows. Would that include adultery?

“No,” says Bronstein. “If that were true, half the parents in America would lose their children.”

[From The NY Daily News]

Elizabeth surely has good reason to detest Rielle, and judging from Rielle’s interview on Oprah, the bitch is crazy. I wouldn’t want my phantom, imaginary children anywhere near Rielle. Hell, I wouldn’t want my dog anywhere near Rielle. She’s bunny-boiling crazy. And it’s sad to think that Elizabeth’s dying wish is to ensure that her youngest children have nothing to do with Rielle, and that that wish probably won’t come true. Because I do see John marrying or living with Rielle after Elizabeth dies – and I think he’ll want Rielle to help him raise Emma and Jack. Ugh. Maybe Cate is the best option.

Entitled whack job Rielle Hunter isn’t satisfied with the hefty child support and rent free mansion that former Presidential candidate and all-around douchebag John Edwards set her up with. She’s reportedly planning to have another baby with Edwards and even wants to marry him. Hunter’s waiting a little while, though, until her astrological chart gives her the best date:

JOHN EDWARDS’ mistress RIELLE HUNTER wants to have a second child with him – and plans to marry the disgraced 2 time presidential loser when her astrological charts name the right date!

Those are just two bombshell revelations the 46-year-old divorcee did NOT reveal during her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, sources tell The ENQUIRER.

Oprah asked her repeatedly about her relationship with Edwards, but Rielle refused to reveal specifics about their plans.

But a source close to her told The ENQUIRER: “She’s actually planning a big future with John after his divorce from Elizabeth is final.”

FOR THE FULL STORY about Rielle’s hidden agenda pick up the new ENQUIRER – on sale NOW!

[From The National Enquirer]

If only this stupid bitch would have waited until the stars were aligned before she took up with a married man whose wife was battling cancer. I’m really glad that Kaiser covered Hunter’s interview with Oprah, because the the two and a half minute excerpt I watched was just about all I could take. Hunter explained away her behavior in her nasally mealy mouthed new age way. She kept repeating how she just knew she was justified in taking up with Edwards due to her feelings, which absolved her of all responsibility. Now she has a feeling that she has to have another baby and marry Edwards. The sad thing is that she’s probably just waiting for Elizabeth Edwards to die before she makes her move. It’s all ok in Hunter’s small mind, though, because the cosmos is set up just for her to get whatever she wants.

At least we can console ourselves with the fact that Edwards is cheating on Hunter too, and that he’s probably not going to have enough money left over after his divorce and lengthy legal battle to keep paying Hunter’s bills. Edwards is still facing federal charges for allegedly funneling campaign contributions to Hunter and other staffers in an attempt to cover up the affair.

I’m still grappling with the hour I spent watching Oprah interview Rielle Hunter. I honestly don’t think I was prepared for “The Full Rielle”. She is… so… disgusting. And I really am searching for the best way to describe her. The one word I kept thinking throughout the interview was “inappropriate”. Like, Rielle had inappropriate reactions to questions, smiling and laughing as she discussed her multi-year affair with John Edwards. She was inappropriate in her description of the evolution of her “love” for “Johnny”. She was inappropriate in her denials, in her hedges, in her New Age-y bullsh-t lingo. She was a lot of other things too: horrible, stupid, moronic, hypocritical, delusional, crazy, asinine, and, to borrow from Robert Downey Jr., “f-cking babyshambles”.

That being said, I did have one or two moment where I honestly agreed with Rielle’s worldview. I too don’t believe that husbands can be “stolen” and that men are not possessions that two women should “fight” over. So I gave her that one point. But I took away, like, one million points every time she tried to elicit sympathy for herself, every time she laughed about having an affair, every time I saw her dumb eyes glaze over when Oprah tried to ask her something more complicated than “What does this crystal do?” Anyway, here’s a clip of the interview and some highlights:

On why she was doing this interview with Oprah now:
“It felt more right after Johnny claimed paternity publicly.”

On home-wrecking:
“It is not my experience that a third party can wreck a home. I believe that problems exist before a third party comes into the picture.”

On people’s angry reactions:
“It hurts. It hurts because they don’t know you.”

On people seeing her negatively:
“Because of the affair. And also because a lot of people bought into the myth of the marriage. The fairybook marriage … and I destroyed it.”

On how they met.
“He lit up like a Christmas tree, just white lights, just like bright as can be. I turned to him and said, ‘You’re so hot.’ And he practically jumped in my arms.”

On Edwards when they met:
“He wanted help. He wanted to be more authentic. He wanted to live a life of truth.”

On whether she spent the night the first time they met:
“On that I say, ‘Fade to Black.’”

On the Edwards marriage:
“Being a person who is committed to truth and living a lot where you’re not hiding, it’s almost like a cosmic joke to fall in love with someone who is living a big lie.”

On guilt:
“What’s so hard about it is that the power of the love does override all the issues that come up, all the judgment … our hearts were louder than the minds.”

On when why Edwards announced his candidacy in the midst of the affair:
“He was in extreme conflict about it … He was, I believe, addicted to campaigning.”

On why she thought he shouldn’t run:
“I’m conservative that way, I believe in truth. I believe you need to get all your ducks in a row and leave a life of integrity before you step out into the public.”

On watching Edwards renew his vows with Elizabeth:
“Someone who stands before God and makes a vow crushes me on the inside. That anyone can do that … I could never do that.”

On how he reacted to the news that Rielle was pregnant while he was still running for president of the United States:
“He was very gracious … I wouldn’t say he was supportive. I’d say he had a lot of issues with the timing.”

On birth control:
“We never used birth control.”

On why she agreed to the lie about the paternity of her daughter Frances Quinn:
“If he got out of the race because of her, or me being pregnant with her, and always had this thing in his head, ‘I could have been president, and some blame toward her at all; if she somehow flipped this inside her head, that it was her fault for coming into the world, that was too hard for me.”

On why she made a sex tape:
“I don’t think there was a lot of thought about what was going on in the heat of the moment … Afterward, we thought, ‘Well that was not a great idea.’”

On why she isn’t openly dating him:
“I’m a private person; it’s hard, I need boundaries. Right now I have boundaries around my personal life.”

On what she’s learned:
“I have become a better person through the process. More compassionate, more aware.”

On what Edwards thought of her doing this interview:
“He didn’t think it was a good idea.”

On having the affair:
“Our hearts were louder than the minds.”

On the pantless GQ spread:
“What I was thinking was, I would like to have one sexy shot where the world can see me as — as a beautiful woman, as opposed to all those photos that are out there of me looking like some Wicked Witch of the West, the ugliest thing you could ever imagine.”

More on the “home-wrecking”:
“I followed my heart, and I believe it was the right thing to do, which is weird — I get how weird that is — because I didn’t make a commitment to Elizabeth. I wasn’t the one lying, like, to her, and I was supporting him in his process, and his intentions never wavered. I knew that he wanted — he just had a really unique way of getting there — to live a life of truth.”

[From New York Magazine & The New York Times]

Oh, yes. She never used birth control. Dumbass.

One thing did occur to me at some point as I winced through the conversation about Edwards deciding to run for president in 2008 – seriously, how f-cking stupid, immoral, ethically corrupt, ridiculous and f-cked up is John Edwards? It’s one thing to look at Rielle and think, “Well, stupid is as stupid does” but then you have to look at John Edwards. Why? Why does he exist? How did he even get elected to anything? Why was he enabled to this pinnacle of self-destruction? How big a f-cking fraud is he?

Oh, we’ve finally gotten the first teeny-tiny clip from Oprah’s must-see interview with Rielle Hunter. The clip above is from Good Morning America, and they only show little snippets of the interview as part of a larger news story about what a f-cking lying douchebag John Edwards is. You can here several things, though. First, Oprah has her “judgy journalist” voice happening, like you can tell she’s thinking “this white bitch is crazy.” Second, Rielle’s voice is terrible. She’s all nasal, and she sounds like a Valley Girl. As for what Rielle is actually saying…

In a new clip from Oprah Winfrey’s tell-all interview with Rielle Hunter, the ex mistress to John Edwards reveals when the former Senator came clean to his wife Elizabeth Edwards about having a child out of wedlock.

Hunter tells Oprah that everyone who knew “the truth” advised Edwards against sitting down with Bob Woodruff of “Dateline” in August, 2008. It was in this interview that Edwards admitted to having an affair but denied being the father of Hunter’s baby. He later disclosed that he was in fact the biological father of the child.

“Elizabeth really wanted him to do that interview,” Hunter recalls, saying that Edwards’ wife did not know the entire truth at the time. “He came clean with her after the interview.”

Oprah says what was most surprising about her talk with Hunter was that “she doesn’t think of herself as a homewrecker.” The talk show host’s interview with Edwards’ ex mistress will air Thursday, April 29, on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

[From The Insider]

Oh, I must remember this. The show comes on tomorrow. I thought Oprah would wait for May sweeps? Guess not. As far as Rielle’s revelation that John Edwards was still lying to Elizabeth (about the baby) even as he was admitting the affair with Rielle… ugh. But it makes some kind of sense, that it went down like that. Of course, Rielle is just eager to bash Elizabeth. In the psychodrama playing in Rielle’s mind, Elizabeth is the Bad Guy.