After months of lies and denials, former democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally admitted to an extramarital affair with campaign staffer Rielle Hunter, while his wife battled breast cancer. And after additional denials that he was the father of Hunter’s now-23-month-old daughter, Edwards finally admitted last week through a written statement, that he was in fact the father of the child. Elizabeth Edwards has now had enough. Today, it was announced that the former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and his terminally ill wife Elizabeth, have legally separated. Elizabeth 60, and John, 56, have been married for 32-years.
Elizabeth Edwards’ spokesperson released a statement saying, Elizabeth “is moving on with her life and wants to put this difficult chapter behind her.”
The announcement of the couple’s separation comes just days before the release of Andrew Young’s tell-all book. Young was a former aide to John Edwards, and his book is not expected to be complimentary to the former challenger for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. The book, entitled “The Politician,” details the attempts by Edwards’ to cover up his affair and the fathering of his love child. John Edwards had convinced Young to falsely claim paternity of Hunter’s child.
The statement released by Elizabeth Edwards acknowledged the upcoming expose of her husband, describing the book as filled with “many falsehoods and exaggerations” and she pointed out two claims made in Young’s book that she disputes:
“First, the allegation that she sought to politicize her cancer is unconscionable, hurtful and patently false. Second, she believed Andrew Young to be the father of this child until her husband confessed his paternity to her this past summer. She will have nothing further to say,” read the statement.
