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Maria Belen Chapur, Mark Sanford | 06/29/2009 9:45 am

Mark Sanford's Mistress, Maria Belen Chapur, Says Little About Affair; Wife Called a Hero

Chapur says she has idea who leaked affair-related e-mail messages to the press; friends say Sanford’s wife, credited with much of his political success, is no victim.
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
Image: Wikipedia

Maria Belen Chapur admitted over the weekend that she had a steamy affair with South Carolina governor and formerly rising GOP star Mark Sanford, but she’s saying little else on the scandal.

The 41-year-old Argentine woman also said she has a "firm suspicion" of who broke into her Hotmail account, where e-mail messages were housed containing details about her affair, reports The New York Times. But she doesn’t think the hacker is an ex-boyfriend. Whoever the culprit is, he or she broke into her e-mail around November 24, and, the following month, sent the e-mail messages to her ex and The State newspaper in Columbia, SC.

"I won’t speak about my private life as it just belongs to me,” Chapur said in a statement. "It has already been made too public during these last days, bringing to me even more pain."

Meanwhile, wife Jenny Sanford — the woman who is credited for many of her husband’s successes — is being heralded a hero by those who know her. She’s no victim. She kicked Sanford out of the family home, and says her No. 1 priority is her family, not her husband’s political career. She recently said she knew her husband has been cheating on her since January when she found a love letter, and that he had the gall to ask her if it was OK for him to visit his mistress. The Washington Post says Mrs. Sanford, 46, "seems to have drawn a new path for the aggrieved spouse of a philandering politician, an episode that has become something of a ritual in American politics."

Cyndi Mosteller, a longtime friend and prominent Republican operative in South Carolina, told the Post:

Jenny is the hero in this story. She’s the hero to her children, and I think she’s the hero to this state. In the midst of this tragedy, she is standing strong to who she is and what she believes in … I think Jenny has not had these types of ambitions, but I think every woman in South Carolina would vote for Jenny Sanford for governor right now.

Jenny Sanford certainly isn’t the first wife of a prominent politician to have her family turned upside down because of a sex scandal. Hillary Clinton endured Bill’s Oval Office antics; Dina Matos McGreevey had to deal with her New Jersey governor husband Jim McGreevey’s public outing as a gay man; Silda Spitzer was mortified to find out her husband, then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was spending time with prostitutes; and Elizabeth Edwards not only had to deal with her husband’s extramarital activities, but the possibility that he fathered a child with another woman, on top of it all.

What do you think Jenny Sanford should do? Should she forgive her husband or kick him to the curb for good?

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

N P
I can’t speak for Jenny Sanford. What she decides to do is her business.
By N P on 06/29/2009 10:20 am
MK P
Exactly, N P — I don’t think anyone should presume to suggest to Jenny Sanford (or any other woman in this type of situation) what she should do.
By MK P on 06/29/2009 10:56 am
Maggie W

Mr. Tan Lines Sanford says he will not resign his position so " I can be an example to my sons.  When you’re down, you pick yourself up again."

Oh, he’s an example alright.  He definitely got that part right.

As for Jenny, using good sense doesn’t make her a hero.  She has young sons to think of ,and no doubt they are foremost in her mind.  If she decides to stay with the skunk, I wish her well.

By Maggie W on 06/29/2009 11:00 am
Kristy B

Maggie,

We both know if he (Tanlines) wanted to set an example for his sons that he would resign :).  He left that state without telling anyone, not even the Lt. Governor, possibly used tax payers money to fund his trips, etc., etc…

By Kristy B on 06/29/2009 11:07 am
Slinky Binx

As for Jenny, using good sense doesn’t make her a hero.

I agree.  I said it last week, I’m not impressed.  And all this BS media hoopla of how great she is because she didn’t go to the press conference is just ridiculous.    If she wants to make a real stand, divorce him and kick him to the curb for good, because this probably isn’t the first time he’s cheated—it’s just the time he got caught.  

But, then again, if he’s a good boy, he gets to come home like nothing ever happened.  Those are some stiff consequences for breaking the sanctity of marriage and humiliating your family.  Left the state to fly to another country to be with his mistress (possibly on his constituents dime) and he gets to keep his job and possibly his family, Oh poor Gov. Sanford, he’s got it so rough.  Another do as I say, not as I do hypocrite. 

 

 

By Slinky Binx on 06/29/2009 7:24 pm
Irish Eyes NY
slinky: I didn’t read anything from you regarding the wives of: Clinton, Edwards, Spitzer, McGreevey (all dems I might add) where is your advise to them to leave their husbands?? McGreevey’s wife left because he made her life so miserable she had to leave. All the others did the "stand by your man", shit. Where those men not hyprocrites as well?????????????
By Irish Eyes NY on 07/02/2009 7:54 pm
C Hardy
I dont presume to tell Jenny Sanford what to do but I am very proud of her for standing up for herself and not giving in and standing by him.  If she chooses to get back together with him I am sure she will have her reasons.  I wont condone her for it b/c its her life but as many of you say he is a public figure and their lives are for the public to see…If they get counseling and help and she feels he is truly sorry & that she can trust him again, so be it.  I wish her luck…
By C Hardy on 06/29/2009 11:01 am
Rachel F

C, I’m with you. It’s her life and her choice, but I am happy to see that she isn’t a patsy like other political wives, who "stand by their men" no matter what for the sake of his career. She’s seriously thinking about what’s best for her and her kids, not just doing what society expects political wives to do; whatever that ends up being, it’s good to see that she’s actually considering it, and not just hubby’s career. Good for her!

I feel sorry for her and the kids, and more sorry for Sanford than most of these political cheaters — his motives at least were somewhat above temporary satisfaction, unlike the Ensigns, Spitzers, Edwards, etc., etc. of the world. It’s a sad situation for everyone involved, and I hope that they all find peace.

By Rachel F on 06/29/2009 11:39 am
MK P
I agree, C H — for myself, I can’t imagine how it would be possible to rebuild a relationship with my husband after finding out he had deceived me for eight years and reading those emails.    BUT, if she decides that is what is best for her — then I wish her well.
By MK P on 06/29/2009 11:49 am
C Hardy
MK Im with you…I dont know what I would do if I found out my hubby had been cheating on me…Man you would see fireworks from here to there…
By C Hardy on 06/29/2009 12:19 pm
MK P

Hi C………I would have said the same thing, but it’s funny how sometimes we think we will act a certain way when in a situation, but then we we get in it and act totally differently.   My ex-husband cheated on me — when I found out, I didn’t blow up — I was just like "get out", I’m done……….we tried to patch things up after that, but I just simply could not shake the dis-trust.   Seeing Sanford’s reactions and reading the emails, I wouldn’t give that marriage much of a chance of getting back on track again.   BUT, I don’t have a crystal ball and learned a long time ago — we each gotta do what is right for us………..

By MK P on 06/29/2009 1:46 pm
C Hardy
Mk, I agree.  We dont know what we would do until that situation is in front of us.  I know I allowed a man to cheat on me several times, thankfully we were not married & had no kids, dont know why I allowed it but I did.  Thankfully that chapter is long closed in my life but to be married and have my husband cheat on me, man I just dont know…that is so hard to say.  I am sure there would be some bruises on him from where I would smack the hell out of him but to say that I would leave him for good considering we have a daughter who adores him, I really dont know.
By C Hardy on 06/29/2009 2:20 pm
Chris Glass`

As a current South Carolina resident I have followed this because it affects our state government. What some people don’t kow is that Jenny Sanford was her husband’s political advisor until the last election. He might not have won the governorship without her help. She is an intelligent well-educated woman who did everything she could to help him advance politically. She and the state were both betrayed by this affair.

When she first discovered the affair going on she asked her husband not to see the woman in question again. Apparently that didn’t register with Mark Sanford because he asked for permisson to visit her. Jenny Sanford told him not to go under any circumstances. She stayed with him just long enough for her children to finish the school year before telling him that she wanted a seperation.

What happend between Jenny and Mark Sanford now is their personal business. Jenny Sanford is a woman of integrity and deep faith. She is the only person who should determine if her husband is willing and able to change his ways. I admire her for leaving him and letting her husband answer fr the problems that he alone created. As she says she can live with or without him.

By Chris Glass` on 06/29/2009 11:24 am
Belinda Joy

She should kick him to the curb.

Keep in mind fellow bloggers (if we are to believe the reports) when she first found out about the affair, he begged her to allow him to see his mistress one more time and she said no. Stating that if he were to do that it would be a sign to her (Jenny) that he wasn’t serious about closing that chapter of his life.

So as she said, when he was away from her for the last two weeks, she thought he was off having an introspective time about their marriage and his mistake, only to find he was with his mistress……that is the ultimate slap in the face. She should definitely leave him, he is not to be trusted.

By Belinda Joy on 06/29/2009 11:41 am
S G
I think she has already kicked him to the curb. I would say she will be fine and thanks to her so will her sons.
By S G on 06/29/2009 11:52 am