Elizabeth Edwards | 05/05/2009 9:45 am

Elizabeth Edwards Tells Oprah: 'I Have No Idea' if Rielle Hunter's Baby is My Husband's

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Elizabeth Edwards is finally telling her story of how her presidential-aspiring husband cheated on her and perhaps fathered an illegitimate child, her battle with breast cancer, the death of her first-born son, and everything in between.

On Thursday, Edwards — whose new book, "Resilience," hits shelves May 12 — sits down with talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey to discuss what it’s like to be married to John Edwards. Winfrey asks Mrs. Edwards about speculation swirling that her husband fathered a child with former campaign worker Rielle Hunter, to which Elizabeth replies, "I’ve seen a picture of the baby I have no idea — it doesn’t look like my children but I have no idea."

John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is under federal investigation as to whether he improperly used campaign funds to pay Hunter. In her book, Mrs. Edwards calls Hunter a "sad groupie" whose life is "pathetic" and who tried to seduce her husband by saying "You are so hot."

"If you had asked me to wager that house we were building on whether my husband of then 28 years would have responded to a come-on line like that, I would have said no," Mrs. Edwards writes in Resilience, excerpts of which have been obtained by Time.

Although former Senator Edwards told his wife he was only with Hunter a single time and Mrs. Edwards tried to convince herself that was true, she sadly later found out that was not the case and that her husband was far from completely honest with her. But she wants to carry on. She writes:

Just as I don’t want cancer to take over my life, I don’t want this indiscretion, however long in duration, to take over my life either. But I need to deal with both; I need to find peace with both. It is hard for John, I can see, because it is something about which he is ashamed. But his willingness to open up is a statement that he trusts me, too. For quite a long time, I used whatever he admitted in the next argument and he was hesitant to say anything. That is, gratefully, behind us. There is still a great deal of sorting through to do — the lies went on for some time. And we both understand that there are no guarantees, but the road ahead looks clear enough, although from here it looks long."

Click here to watch a clip of Mrs. Edwards’ interview with Oprah, to air Thursday.

30 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Elizabeth Edwards has been through a lot. She is a survivor. Whatever happens I am sure she will be fine.

By S G on 05/05/2009 9:53 am

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It’s none of our business, of course, but I always wonder what keeps these wives in marriages to guys like this when they are so educated, resourceful and talented in their own right…

By Diana T on 05/05/2009 10:09 am

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Hey Diana… I have wondered that as well and sometimes think it’s as simple as loving someone. I have known more than one marriage that has lived through something like this. and what i’ve seen.. it’s often just simple acceptance of someone and their flaws and loving them anyway.

I’ve not experienced it. and used to think that i’d never ever in a million years stay with someone who cheated on me. but the older i get and the more i see lifes grey areas… the more I think "well maybe". or "it would depend". In Elizabeth Edwards case especially i can see it. I mean would you want to end your life without the person you lived it with?

By Chrome Toe on 05/05/2009 10:36 am

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Thank you, Chrome. You have given me a way to think about it with compassion. It’s not the messing around, but I wonder why they wouldn’t insist on a DNA to see if the baby is his…

By Diana T on 05/05/2009 10:50 am

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The thing that gets me about this is, like so many other women, Mrs. Edwards is making excuses for her husband and trashing the woman. I suppose it’s easier to handle that way, but she really needs to take her blinders off.

By DeBúrca obj on 05/05/2009 1:26 pm

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When we are making excuses for others, DeB, we are being co-dependent. She (as well as the other disgraced wives) need to stop that and let their husbands do the dirty work. We are not our husbands’ mothers.

By Diana T on 05/05/2009 1:35 pm

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She deserves to know if that child is John’s baby. Her children should know if they have a half sister( brother?). Likewise for Reille’s child.

I wish Mrs. Edwards inner peace in that long road she mentions.

By Maggie W on 05/05/2009 10:15 am

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As they say, this is wrong on so many different levels. I’m going to take it apart here, just to simplify it for myself.

1. First of all, Elizabeth says, "I’ve seen a picture of the baby I have no idea — it doesn’t look like my children but I have no idea." implying that she has no idea if the baby is her husband’s. Ever heard of DNA testing? Why is everybody so afraid to test that baby and John Edwards to determine paternity? Personally, I think this was not a situation for the Oprah Show, but for the Maury Povitch Show. Everybody concerned, from Elizabeth and John Edwards and their children (as Maggie says above) to the innocent baby and Rielle Hunter, has the right to know. Not only from a standpoint of this being a baby conceived from an extra marital affair but for legal reasons and medical reasons.

2. I have a great deal of respect/pity for Elizabeth Edwards, her medical situation and her family problems. I think she is a strong educated woman, who has had to face more than she should have ever had to bear. But to call her rival for John’s affections " a "sad groupie" whose life is "pathetic" and who tried to seduce her husband by saying "You are so hot."????? That makes me have LESS respect for Elizabeth. The problem is not with the "groupie" although she is responsible for her part in the affair. The problem is with your HUSBAND! Let’s face it, if a man wants to cheat, he will find a way to cheat. If he DOESN"T want to cheat, Paris Hilton walking around nude won’t force him to do so. He wanted to cheat, he did.

3. Elizabeth says, "Just as I don’t want cancer to take over my life, I don’t want this indiscretion, however long in duration, to take over my life either." Then why did you write a book and are saying this on the Oprah Winfrey Show?

I wish her peace as she moves through her battles, but also think she could have handled all this a lot better by leaving her husband OR dealing with the Rielle situation head on when it happened and then moving on.

By nanchan u on 05/05/2009 10:35 am

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Ya… i’ve never quite understood blaming the other woman for your husbands indiscretion either. always seemed oddly misplaced to me. And i found her surprise that her husband would respond to a woman making him feel like he’s "hot" surprising. in my experience that is the exact thing all men respond to lol….

By Chrome Toe on 05/05/2009 10:39 am

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"And i found her surprise that her husband would respond to a woman making him feel like he’s "hot" surprising. in my experience that is the exact thing all men respond to lol…."

Don’t leave out women! Yesterday, my gardener was working in my yard when I was getting ready to go out on a date. He is a good friend of our family (he does a lot of work around my house for me, since I am sans man in the house) and we know each other pretty well…. he took one look at me in my boots and mini and said "Boy, you are SMOKIN hot tonight!"

I had to fight the urge to whisk the weedwhacker out of his hand…. NOT! That’s so ridiculous that some woman says "Oh, your so hot!" and the guy just loses all sense of reason.

If I was a guy, I’d be pretty insulted at that too! Like they have no self control…. But maybe the wives (and husbands) are afraid to look at the marriage honestly… don’t know …

By nanchan u on 05/05/2009 10:46 am

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And by the way, whatever happened to just saying "Thank YOU!" when somebody gives you a compliment? That’s what I said to my gardener!

By nanchan u on 05/05/2009 10:47 am

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"But maybe the wives (and husbands) are afraid to look at the marriage honestly… don’t know …"

Exactly. It’s easier to find a scapegoat for the real problem in the marriage (the cheating spouse’s betrayal and lack of commitment) than to face the truth.

By Rachel F on 05/05/2009 11:01 am

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Exactly — Reilly "TRIED" to seduce John Edwards — poor John Edwards, I guess he just didn’t have a chance when Reille said he was hot. =)

By MK P on 05/05/2009 11:11 am

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Good post, nanchan — you spent a lot of time putting together these thoughts……and I absolutely agree with them. =)

Let’s face it, if she DIDN’T think the kid was John Edwards’ — she’d be insisting on a DNA test.

By MK P on 05/05/2009 11:17 am

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WRT: the DNA testing:

Why isn’t Rielle insisting on it? Is it a condition with John Edwards to continue to support her and her child? If so, that explains why she won’t insist on it… either that or she’s not sure how the test would come out?

JOhn Edwards: if he’s not the father, why not insist on the DNA testing. Hey, you can get the kits in drugstores now! Why not just get it over with. Seems a no brainer to me.

Thanks for the compliment on my post (seriously, it didn’t take too much time :) but thanks!

By nanchan u on 05/05/2009 11:50 am