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.
makes me SICK.
“Call me Mommy”?!!! WTF?!
this would be a strange thing to say 3 years after a mother dies let alone 3 weeks. It’s all very wrong.
Damn… The jump-off got the last laugh. Life is unfair.
That fist pic of John is The. Most. Amazing. Picture. Ever.
It’s a tacky to do it so soon after his wife death but it’s better that he marry that woman since he obviously has feelings for her and they share a child.
Better this that staying a widow playing around and risking to get another woman pregnant.
I’m actually shocked that John Edwards is still interested in this nasty piece; He’s a heinous creep, but she’s been nothing but trouble for years and is getting uglier as time goes on. I would have assumed that the Breck girl and all his money would have gone in search of greeener pastures. It’s all more than a little sick in my opinion. I really think it’s pathetic that Elizabeth wanted her eldest daughter to police John and the younger kids- what a burden.
He couldn’t wait a few months or longer? Is she pregnant again?
I think John, oh I’m sorry Johnny, as Rielle calls him is stupid enough to think marrying that space cadet will make everything he did ok. He actually believe’s once he’s all wifed up with Rielle everyone wil forgot what a scumbag he is.
Wow. This makes me sick, too. Poor Elizabeth. Agree w/ Honey B – life IS unfair. UGH. I find myself despising this woman.
Well, first of all: John Edwards is the one with the money so he didn’t need any of Elizabeth’s money. (She probably got all that money from the divorce settlement anyway.) Therefore it’s natural that she would leave whatever she had to her children. Who else would she leave it to? The Will was probably changed long ago, not just before she died. The woman was sick for years with cancer. You don’t wait until the end to change a Will. But, of course, that sounds way more dramatic than the truth.
Secondly, no one, not even Cate Edwards, can keep John Edwards from seeing his kids nor can Cate keep him from introducing the kids to anyone. John Edwards is their father and the minor children will live with him in their home. No Will can change that.
Finally, the bottom line is, jerk or not, John Edwards is the only parent these children have. He is out of politics for the moment and I think the National Enquirer should just drop this whole thing and move on. John Edwards is no longer of interest to most people. Now, if he decided to run for office again, then all bets are off. But for now, his kids deserve not to be mentioned in a rag.
The only “good thing” about this slimefest is that Elizabeth isn’t around to see it.
Johnny & Rielle deserve each other.
My sympathy is with the children.
I think it’s important for siblings to know each other, no matter how they came to be. Yes, it was a dirty affair but to keep Quinn away would only deny her chance to have a normal familial relationship because we all know it’s not going to happy through Rielle or John.
Cate is what, 28? Now she she should have bitch slapped Rielle for that “call me mommy” shit. That I’d approve of.
What a load of horse sh*t. If I was Cate I would have slapped my father right in the mouth, grabbed the kids and went back to my mother’s house.
Screw the ho side kick. It was too early after their mother died to do all this and it will have an effect on the younger children. Stupid Stupid Stupid. I am mad that they did not protect Elizabeth’s younger children any better than that.
This meeting shoulda taken place months later.. months… the only meeting there should have been was with Quinn and Quinn only.
@mslewis…if I recall, I don’t think John & Elizabeth ever divorced, I think they were separated when she died.
@JD’s girl – AGREED!! And well said.
@mslewis, you seem to be confusing elizabeth edwards with the jumpoffs that john is so clearly attracted to. Elizabeth was an incredibly successful lawyer, so any money that they had she certainly contributed to equally if not more so.
and while you are right about him being their only father, i find his lack of decency astonishing. Integrity still means something
wow.
if this is true, then Edwards is not even trying to not look like a d—- bag anymore, is he?
Here is what MY attorny told me 30 yrs ago: some of life’s indignities are unfair, you just have to deal with it. Sad but true. He should be lynched. Just because.
They are scum, pure trash, and they deserve each other. If my mother had just died and my fathers whore told me to call her mommy, I’d be behind bars, and dear old dad would have to find a new ho.
@mslewis…Elizabeth was a lawyer as well and a very prominent one so she had money of her own as well. Neither of them comes from a wealthy background. They both worked the ass to get as multimillioners as they did. So yes, she could have changed her will and leave everything to their children.
Where I come from, if you are not divorced, and if you don’t have a pre-nup, half goes to the spouse, no matter what, not even a will can take that half away, but I don’t know the laws of each state.
Disgusting dirtball. That’s all I have to say. You know the mistress, cause I still consider her that whether they marry or not, will be all smug and obnoxious about her “winning” this piece of garbage. Good luck, he will be doing it to you soon enough.
He is a creep to the core. But unfortunately mslewis is right. Elizabeth can’t and never could have legally kept Rielle from the kids. I just hope they spend alot of time with their older sis who has some sense.
Sometimes the good people don’t get what’s best. These two will just have to deal with the fact that the world as a whole despises them. I wouldn’t give them shelter from the storm if they were freezing to death on my porch.
Dear God, I actually agree with mslewis.
If I were one of the two kids, I’d break up with him forever and live with the sister.
John Edwards is every slur you can think to throw at him. I feel so sad for these children because they have just lost the mother they adored and now have to learn to accept this nutcase. I hope the “you can call me mommy” line is a fabrication. I bet Rielle Hunter could make Camille Grammer seem dignified. I hope Cate has the strength and resources to protect her mother’s fortune so that Jack and Emma Claire may have some means to grow up healthy and happy, especially if they have to share a home with crazy Rielle.
I don’t believe anything about this story. “And Cate was civil toward Rielle.” Please. Cate’s mother just died with a broken heart caused by John and that woman, why would Cate’s father want to force that woman on his daughter at this time? The story is too ridiculous for words. The Enquirer got pics of John leaving through the back door of a hotel, and in the hotel room with baby Quinn and they haven’t staked out John Edwards for the opportunity of getting pics of just such a meeting between the Hunters and the Edwards’? The Enquirer couldn’t get a grainy photo of Rielle and Quinn approaching, entering or leaving this alleged dinner meeting?
I’m sort of disappointed in Cate if this is true…I’m the same age as her, and if my father had tried this, I would have absolutely fought it tooth and nail, and no way would I ever be civil.
I have to say I agree with @mslewis on the fact we don’t need any more stories about this guy. It’s a disgusting sad situation but the kids don’t need anymore stories about their father being a jerkoff when their mother just died.
I can’t believe he pulled this shit so soon. He has no class, just like Rielle. She may think she “won”, but what did she win? A lying, cheating sack of crap. Um, not a prize.
“Rielle Hunter could make Camille Grammer seem dignified.”
Wow. You know, I didn’t think anyone could do that, but you really are right.
I don’t doubt that John Edwards is with that lunatic, and may actually marry her at some point. But I call BS on his having his 3 kids meet her at this point-especially Cate.
I totally agree with Kaiser and I believe the story.
Life goes on. That’s the bottom line whether people are shmucks or sterling characters.
I never bought into John or Elizabeth as politicians, and Rielle seems to have a shaky hold on sanity and morality.
But Elizabeth cannot enshroud her children in her own bitterness from beyond the grave.
I think we are too invested and play it too simplistic.
In the real world it doesn’t work this way. He is still the father of Elizabeth’s children and they are bound together wether we like it or not.
Those children like anyone normal have mixed feelings, because he is their father and they can’t stop loving him inspite of everything and will certainly not agreed that strangers trash him for something he did to them and their mother.
At some point, with time, they will make peace because it’s the only reasonable option for them to feel better with no regrets. Because i can guarantee that if they don’t do it before he passes away, those children will never get a chance to heal and will be even more fucked up.
Just like Williams and Harry did for their father Prince Charles and his mistress.
Last thing they need is a hate campaign towrads the only parent left they have.
First of all, the Enquirer gets more wrong than right. They said this last year too and were wrong. But if they privately got engaged to be married next summer, I see nothing wrong with that as long as it’s between them and not announced until after they marry in the summer or right before. They’ve been together four years now.
I can’t stand her, but if they get married next summer I have no problem with that. What he sees in this piece of nutcase work, I will never understand, except I think after rereading her GQ article, that his narcissistic side loves that she sees him as a “great man” who will do greatness in life. He feeds off her bullshit adoration.
What I will never forgive her for more than anything is in the GQ article talking about Elizabeth as being abusive throughout the marriage and blah, blah. The woman was dying. And she told all the private details of their affair. I don’t care if they were separated then or not. That was totally inappropriate. And If I were one of his children I would hate her.
I just want to vomit. Sickening, just sickening. He should of been the one dying of cancer.
I live in Charlotte & let me tell you, I hope I never see this Rielle chick
Yuck. But I have to call bull shit on the “call me Mommy” line. I don’t buy it.
First of all, the two youngest kids of Elizabeth and John Edwards’ should have met Quinn their sister long ago, shortly after her birth. They also should have had an ongoing relationship with her over the years. She is their sibling. *If* Elizabeth Edwards outlawed this relationship, she is not in fact a very good mother in this respect. Punishing the children, who should have relationships with eachother, is not appropriate. Of course, Cate Edwards is an adult and cannot be forced, but the young children should’ve been having an ongoing relationship with Quinn, despite their mother’s wishes. I hope that they have had one, and these stories about a first meeting are wrong.
And frankly, even though I think both Rielle and John are huge assholes, John Edwards is the father and guardian to all the children, and he has a right to introduce his children to his girlfriend. He had this right even when Elizabeth was alive, though of course, it would have arguably been in poor taste to do so. Maybe okay to hold off on the introductions to Rielle until after Elizabeth died, out of respect for her.
I also think they should hold off on the engagement out of respect for the feelings for the younger children. They need time to adjust. Maybe six months to a year. What’s the rush?
And FYI I do think Elizabeth Edwards was royally screwed over, I agree. But acting petty and punishing the young children is not right. Full stop. End of story. They should have relationships with their sibling, however she was conceived, and however ridiculous her mother is.
I don’t see how it would be possible to have Cate make decisions for the younger kids when their father is alive and unfortunately well. I don’t believe the “call me Mommy” bit, and am not sure I believe he proposed, either.
Oh, and I could swear I read that supposedly he wasn’t allowed near their house anymore, that she wanted it sold or to be sold to a relative of hers? More nonsense.
Inevitable? Maybe. But not a few weeks after your children’s mother’s death, you asshole!
I’d divorce my father, file for custody of my siblings, and slap the taste out of that skank’s mouth (you know that’s the only sense of “taste” she possesses!) for the “call me Mommy” line of crap she’s throwin’ down. Truth.
Elizabeth Edwards is just as narcissistic and despicable as John Edwards, and she deserved everything that happened to her. If it is true that she tried to prevent her children from seeing their half-sibling (who is a complete innocent), it only serves to further illustrate her nauseating sense of self importance.
I dunno about most of this story. I do think the kids will meet Riley, and could buy that they are engaged now but.. having a harder time swallowing the “call me mommy’ line.
The Enquirer got a lot of street cred for busting this story wide open, so just about anything they throw out there will have lots of people believing it.
IMO, I think Elizabeth put way too much on Cate, with the kids, I remember before the whole Riley mess busted loose, she said while they were running, that if anything happened to her, Cate would be raising them, and John would be in office. Cate was still quite young (very early 20’s I think and still in College at the time) I think this was on 60 Minutes. So I have always believed that Elizabeth knew way more and played the game for a lot longer than she publicly admitted. JMHO on this whole drunken monkey mess.
But what I wanna know more about is the Tiger breaks into Elin’s house! Kaiser find out the deets on THAT story!
I hate this Lying A$$hole piece of crap and wish the Wife and taken him with her… I would have!
Of the wisest things a counselor ever told me was to not bad mouth the woman that cheated with my ex (or my ex) to my children, as they were having problems. I followed her advice..forgave, got over it. Years down the road, I had health issues developing into chronic pain issues…the “step-mom”..they never married, has helped out a lot even though the kids are now grown. Sometimes there is a time and place for your kids to know, sometimes never. But, then again…I didn’t have to deal with what Elizabeth did or walk in her shoes. Cate and the younger Edwards children love their father (any child)–constant bashing of their father is like bashing them. It is a mistake to keep harping on and on and it will back-fire, best to forgive and let it go. Your children will respect you for it in the end.
Why did this Rielle pose like this?…just look at those pics, am I the only one that notices that she looks like she wet her pants in the pic with her little girl? Oh well, one day she will have to explain it to her child. ‘Nuff said. (So will bitter women that cannot forgive and bash constantly, they will have to explain to their children–why.)
Calling John Edwards a piece of crap is an insult to crap. If two people ever deserved each other it’s these two. I feel so badly for the kids in this mess. Karma where are you?
She couldn’t force John to keep the kids away from rielle. Only thing I find odd is Cate being on the bandwagon. If I were her I would have let her know a piece of my mind. Thinking about it Cate probably wants to play nice to stay close to her sister and brother until they are old enough to move on their own.
I live in Raleigh… There is a news story on right now about this. According to them and the Huffington Post, this is NOT a true story; they are not engaged but are still romantically involved.
“Rielle Hunter could make Camille Grammer seem dignified.”
word.
@ JDs girl – I agree with you totally. love it – slap him in the mouth and take the kids back to mother’s house. He is such a loser, I can’t imagine what he can do professionally – can anyone respect him?
When a man marries a mistress he creates a vacancy. When he starts cheating on Rielle the subsequent dysfunction will be of epic proportions.
I feel really sorry for Quinn, Jack, and Emma.
Unfortunately, here in NC, we have what is called an elective share for surviving spouses. That means it’s an automatic operation of law, and the surviving spouse will inherit half the decedent’s estate even if the surviving spouse was not mentioned in the will, or was specifically disinherited in the will. If Elizabeth and John had divorced, she could leave her entire estate and any properties that John had no vested interest in to her children, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. However, before you get divorced in NC, it is mandatory that you must have been separated for at least 1 year (and I have no idea what the People article is talking about when the say she filed for legal separation. Here, we don’t have a legal separation, and you don’t file anything. You just have to prove, when you file for divorce, that you have been living apart continuously for 1 year). As Elizabeth and John separated in Jan. 2010, by the time of her death in Dec. 2010, they had not been separated long enough for her to get a divorce. By law, John can either take a life estate – the right to occupy any property owned by Elizabeth during their marriage – or an intestate share – 1/3 of all real property, $30,000 cash, and 1/3 of all remaining personal property.
I wish she had left his cheating ass the second she learned about Rielle, so she would have been divorced at the time of her death, and this asshat would get NOTHING.
** Also, her making a condition in her will to prevent her kids from meeting Rielle or Quinn is totally unenforceable.
Long ago I had huge respect for him. He disappointed so many people outside his family…and his family’s pain just has to be huge.
All of this because of his wandering penis. He just has zero integrity.
His sweetie should remember that anything they’ll do with you they’ll do to you.
@elvisgrace . . . Exactly!! Elizabeth can leave whatever she wants to her children but if John wanted to fight that he could and he would win. I’m sure he won’t fight the Will because he has plenty of money but I just find it funny (and annoying) that the media is making such a big deal about John Edwards being left out of his wife’s Will. What’s the big deal? He has his own money, which the children will get eventually also. It’s just much ado about nothing.
And in no State in the Union can a father be denied custody of his children when the mother dies unless he can be proven to be unfit. So, Cate has zero rights to her siblings. Therefore, if John Edwards wants his two minor children to meet their sibling then they will meet their sibling, no matter what Elizabeth’s Will says or what she told whomever. He’s the father and he is in charge. (From what I understand, the children have met the baby many times and the child has even stayed overnight with them. The kids are not strangers.)
I have to laugh at the commenters on here going on and on about “poor Elizabeth” and what she put up with. People you have no idea!! Elizabeth Edwards was a bitch of the first order and NOBODY connected with the Edwards campaign could stand her. My question has always been: How did John Edwards manage to stay with and put up with her as long as he did?
Well said kaiser. Can’t stand this tacky tramp.
Those POOR CHILDREN having a POS father like that! Those children should not be exposed to that crazy skank.
The no-class bitch at least could have waited until their mother was cold in the ground before she started telling the kids to “call me mommy”. If I was Cate and she said that to me, I’d have slapped her through a wall.
Elizabeth Edwards is dead. I do not know how people can come onto this board and call her names and disparage her name…..when we all here know exactly what happened to her.
We do not know much about the people we speculate about here. But I am really disparaged by the urgent need by some posters to rewrite the Edwards history so soon.
John Edwards doesn’t deserve anything. No happiness. No money. No respect. No comfort, as far as I’m concerned.
Elizabeth Edwards’ children were all loved. That was NOT the problem.
How Cate Edwards decides to conduct HER life, along with HER siblings, is HER business. I bet she’s a lot more intelligent about it than her father.
I just can’t believe this story is true. Cate is a strong Harvard educated lawyer who stayed by her mother’s side til the end. I do not think she would be so easily manipulated and fooled by her douche of a father and his trashy homewrecking mistress.
This loser is such a piece of shit.
Somewhere, an ambulance he chased is just waiting to run his sorry ass over.
MonicaBee, better check again, it’s reported that they are in fact engaged.
Elizabeth had such class and grace, she was so above this Rielle. I think John and Rielle deserve each other. Both tactless and trashy.
(That pic of Rielle showing her belly button, yikes, that’s one ugly ass belly button, and the othe pic of her trying to be sexy on the bed…..(sigh) she is so NOT sexy!
@ mslewis:
NC paralegals in the hizzouse!
Elizabeth Edwards is now a poster child for how standing by your douche of a man can backfire. She should have placed her entire estate into a testamentary trust w/ her kids as beneficiaries, and then, at most, John Edwards would have had the right to reside in the marital home until his death, at which point the property would go to Cate, Jack, and Emma, and he could not do fuck-all about it.
I like John Edwards a lot. If he loves Rielle I hope that nothing will stop him. He does deserve some love… you know, the one with *thrills*. Actually everybody does.
mslewis
Identify yourself as someone who would actually know this or STFU. I have a tendancy to believe a dumbass homewewrecking loudmouth ugly tramp like Hunter far and away qualifies as a b*tch more than Elizabeth Edwards, who was loved by a good many people. I think you are or work for Hunter. If you are, rot in hell you cheating hobag. If you’re not, pass that along for me.
I’m not sure how any one can still like John Edwards – he is rotten to the core. And I sincerely hope that he and his mistress get a little suffering in this world!
Sandra – Hate to break it to you, but there are reports that back up some of what mslewis is claiming.
Elizabeth had a strong personality. She’s wasn’t a helpless bird. And yes, a lot of people on the campaign didn’t like her. A lot of people didn’t John for their reasons either. Just because someone has passes away doesn’t mean we should wash away to past to paint a rosier pictures. What happened between the Edwardses and during their campaign was a lot more complex than “John lied and cheated!”. He certainly did but there was far more happening in the background too.
I’m not defending John — I think he’s a scumbag — but I’m just saying there is some truth in what mslewis reported. Google it.
Sandra, read the book “Game Change” by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Elizabeth Edwards was a drastically different person in real life than how she was presented in the media. I was a political consultant and I can tell you personally that Elizabeth Edwards had quite the reputation. She was far from a saint. Her behavior and attitude went back to when they were in COLLEGE … way before the campaign … and way before Rielle.
That being said, NOTHING excuses John Edwards actions. And I for one think John Edwards and Rielle Hunter are perfect for each other! Both totally self-absorbed and nuts!!! I do feel bad for the kids to have to deal with Rielle in their lives.
Im from NC and I got divorced in NC and a lot that has been reported here is not true! If they had a legal seperation, the state recognizes that they are living seperately and all assets and/or income are seen as seperate. If they had a seperation agreement, which NC prefers you do, then they already had an agreement on property, child support and vistitation. If you make no changes, then all of this will automatically become the divorce decree when you file. That is what my husband and I did.
Also, coming from NC, I loved John and Elizabeth, now, John makes me want to vomit.
@ mslewis, get your facts straight and your grammar correct before you start spouting off your negativity.
Are *you* rielle hunter? Because you sound about as uneducated and classless as she comes across.
Calling Mrs Edwards a “bitch”?
Get it together. Go watch some E and drink some boxed wine.
And regarding this story: gross. Just gross.
@ Garvels “I just can’t believe this story is true. Cate is a strong Harvard educated lawyer who stayed by her mother’s side til the end. I do not think she would be so easily manipulated and fooled by her douche of a father and his trashy homewrecking mistress.”
Cate is smart, but this decision is not about her being smart, it’s about being pragmatic.
Quinn is John’s daughter. She will always be involved in his life. Jack and Emma are also very young, so no matter how Elizabeth felt about it, these children are already involved in one another’s lives, John being the common denominator. Quinn deserves to have an involved dad, even if he is a twerp. Thanksgivings,Christmasses, Halloween, Easters. These are big deals to kids.If it came down to having to which children to spend these moments, I’m fairly sure John would choose Cate, Jack, and Emma, but how on earth is that fair to Quinn?
John needs to set up a space for Quinn in his family – a place that does not include Rielle, as that WOULD be a total slap in the face. A child can never, ever have too many people loving them. It isn’t the baby’s fault that her mom is a looney tunes, new age weirdo, gold-digging, home-wrecking, vapid simulacrum for a mother, and a hypocritical, deceitful, two-faced, dishonorable, unethical man whore who can’t keep his trouser mouse in his pants. Quinn NEEDS to be around lots of other people – normal people – because let’s face it: she drew the short straw in the parent lottery.
@ Sandra “mslewis
Identify yourself as someone who would actually know this or STFU. I have a tendancy to believe a dumbass homewewrecking loudmouth ugly tramp like Hunter far and away qualifies as a b*tch more than Elizabeth Edwards, who was loved by a good many people. I think you are or work for Hunter. If you are, rot in hell you cheating hobag. If you’re not, pass that along for me.”
Check out the book “Game Change.” It’s about the 2008 election, covering all the various candidates and their campaigns, and there are PLENTY of anecdotes from various staffers about Elizabeth, and her behavior on the trail. I think members of John’s staff are qualified to speak to her personality and conduct, don’t you?
@ Johnny Depp’s Girl: “m from NC and I got divorced in NC and a lot that has been reported here is not true! If they had a legal separation, the state recognizes that they are living separately and all assets and/or income are seen as separate. If they had a separation agreement, which NC prefers you do, then they already had an agreement on property, child support and visitation. If you make no changes, then all of this will automatically become the divorce decree when you file. That is what my husband and I did.
Also, coming from NC, I loved John and Elizabeth, now, John makes me want to vomit. ”
Um, no. NC does NOT require a separation agreement to be filed with the court. The parties involved may execute a PRIVATE separation agreement, which is basically a contract that may be incorporated into the divorce decree at the request of both parties, if they wish, but it is not required. As with a premarital agreement, The court is not involved in this process, and the state’s family court has no jurisdiction over these agreements.
All that is required to prove the prerequisite year-long separation needed to obtain a divorce is that you show how long the parties have lived separately. This can be done with extrinsic documentation(by showing bills, letters send to different houses, new individual bank or utility accounts), or by stipulation, with both parties state that they have been living apart continuously for a will.
There is NO statutory, required documentation mandated by the NC General Statutes that the parties must file with the court prior to commencing a divorce cause of action, seeking a divorce judgment, or receiving and recording a divorce decree in NC.
If mslewis or any of you think that someone – Elizabeth Edwards or Joe Schmoe – “deserved” cancer then you are as big of an a**hole as John Edwards and you’ve clearly never had a parent or someone very close to you die from cancer. No one deserves it, no matter their character flaws. And its not something you catch due to bad behavior, life doesn’t work like that. And however horrible you think it is….its inifinatly worse in a way you can never comprehend unless you go through it. I cared for my father through 5 1/2 years of cancer before he died and anyone who has lost a parent this way knows what I mean. Like a special little club except that people hope and pray they never join it. I thought I knew, my best friend has been telling me for 15 years that I didn’t understand. Now I get it and she was right.
There is NEVER a time when it would be ok to say “call me mommy,” believe me. If anyone ever said to me “call me dad” then I would have no choice but to….I don’t know…clarify that I have a dad. You only get one dad, one mom. No matter what other people come into your life and are parental figures or important influences in your life….you only get one dad/mom. At no point in life would it be ok, no matter what age or how much time has passed. I have had almost two years to get used to it. My best friend lost her mom to cancer 15 years ago and she says the same thing. But three weeks??? Are you f**king kidding me? These kids have barely begun to process her death and anyone who thinks it ok to try to replace her less than a month is insane. There is no way Cate would have been ok with that statement. That doesn’t necessarily that she screamed obscenities in response, but there is no way she is ok with it.
Life goes on, I know. But it takes TIME to process what it actually means that your parent is gone and TIME to be at peace. Being “ok” with it? Maybe it happens but it sure as shit takes more than 3 weeks. I personally think its never “ok” even though you accept it, make peace with it, move on. Its not like getting remarried, having another kid, or having a step-parent…its hard to explain, but trust that those kids will always miss their mother no matter how well life goes.
Selfish a**hole. Any parent with half a brain would know this is not fair to do to those kids right now, that its a terrible idea to having some nutball their mom hated saying “call me mommy.” Don’t forget – this affair/separation trauma was not that long ago for them. Those kids weren’t living with him. The only reason he would do this now – if he did – is for himself. He is a piece of shit. If I was that sister, you are damn right I would fight for them. Who knows, maybe Edwards doesn’t WANT his kids and is ok with Cate raising them. I certainly hope so. I feel for Cate most of all. Its hard enough to get yourself through it, let alone two little kids who really have no parents now.
And this is the man people wanted to trust as the vice president. Right.
It is really a shame people judge all three of those people so harshly – who knows what John and Elizabeth’s relationship was really like? How do you know she wasn’t an emotionally controlling douche herself? A marriage is rarely perfect for anyone, let alone someone under the constant pressure that politicians face. Yes, he seems to have fallen further than many, but he’s far from alone, and I doubt we (the public) ever will understand the whole story.
Don’t know how it works in NC; but in CA, the date of separation (the date both parties agree the marriage is caput) is the date from which ALL ASSETS are considered SEPARATE BY THE COURT. So, if the ex “Mr. the original bellaluna” & I agreed our marriage was over on June 30, but we didn’t separate our actual households (read: I took the kids and left his cheating ass) until September 15, in the eyes of the court our “date of separation” is still June 30. All incomes/assets accumulated from June 30 forward are considered separate.
(Sorry for the ramble…I worked all night & just got home.)
I don’t care who you are; who you aspire to be; or who you were: you do NOT introduce a side-piece/jump-off to traumatised children. I don’t care if it’s a divorce or a death. IT IS JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE. Give your children time to accept what’s happened, stop being such a selfish asshole, and PUT YOUR CHILDREN FIRST! PERIOD, END OF DISCUSSION.
Kudos to the late Elizabeth Edwards for facing reality and getting a divorce before she died. It couldn’t have been an easy decision to make for someone who knows they are dying. At least she managed to protect her assets for the kids.
@ the original bellaluna:
Ca. is a community property state, NC is a marital property state. In Ca., any property acquired and owned(with a few exceptions, such as gifts and inheritances)acquired during the marriage and owned by the parties at the time of the divorce will be split 50/50. NC has ‘equitable distribution’, which means the judge can assign the distribution of marital property as he or she sees fit. Ca. has statutory requirements for a legal separation that is filed with the court – NC does not. NC couples may draw up a private separation agreement which can later be incorporated into the divorce decree if both parties agree, and the sitting judge signs off on it, but otherwise nothing is filed with the court until the divorce complaint itself.
I completely cosign with Roma (#12).
There’s no reason the children shouldn’t meet Quinn. She’s just an innocent child, who had no say in how she came to the world. She *is* their half sibling, & nothing will change that. She’s family, regardless of what their opinion of the girl’s mother is.
BUT these children have just been through hell losing their mother. They need at least a little time before being forced to accept a brand new situation. (Let alone a new ‘mother’ figure. That’s completely unacceptable.)
But yes, that ‘call me mommy’ BS, if true, is waaaaay over the line. Not that I doubt the woman’s audacity, but that does sound like something they may have exaggerated (or made up) for the sake of promoting outrage.
He’s just too creepy. Go be happy, get married and stay out of public life because you’re a big old hypocrite, cheat and liar.