The John Edwards/Rielle Hunter Story Takes One Last, Sick Turn

The fact that this story is coming out one month to the day after Elizabeth Edwards died is perhaps fitting given how sordid this entire affair has been from the start:

Former presidential candidate John Edwards is engaged to longtime mistress Rielle Hunter, according to a report.

The Jan. 17 issue of the National Enquirers says that the ex-North Carolina senator asked the mother of his lovechild to marry him only three weeks after burying his wife, Elizabeth, who died from cancer. The couple is said to be tying the knot some time this summer.

A copy of Elizabeth Edwards’ last will and testament made public on Wednesday left all her possessions to their three children – Cate, Emma Claire and Jack – and included no mention of John, her husband of 33 years.

“Heartless cheater defies Elizabeth’s dying wish,” screams a line on the supermarket tab’s cover. Below that: “Rielle tells his two young kids: ‘CALL ME MOMMY!”

An Edwards’ spokeswoman declined to comment and Hunter’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

“I do know that I love him and that love is till death do us part, and probably beyond,” Hunter recently told GQ magazine. “We have a child together, so at the very least we will be co-parents together.”

I suppose that the only good thing is that none of this happened when Edwards was in a position of political power. \

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. wr says:

    Personally, I think the only sickness here is the urge to peer at and judge the personal lives of complete strangers. Edwards is out of politics — unlike the cheaters on the other team who hold onto power while having parents shell out hush money to the husband of their girlfiends or hire hookers — whatever he does is none of your business or mine. And the fact that you’re quoting this salcious drivel from the Enquirer puts it all in perspective.

  2. BHG says:

    The lamestream media did a lousy job vetting Edwards and an even worse job with Obama. Embarrassing that a tabloid shows up the NYT et al.

  3. Sterling says:

    Loving that WR is trying to use Edwards’ unfitness for office as a brush to taint Republicans. The fact of the matter is that if you lefties had invested in Edwards 1/100th of the obsessive fascination you have for Sarah Palin, he never would have made it to the VP ticket.

    For the love of God, you Democrats tried to put this malignant cretin one heartbeat away from the presidency! And then four years later you have the audacity to malign Palin?

    Ick, ick, ick. If this is what rises to the top in your party, you need to ask yourselves some hard questions.

  4. Trumwill says:

    He’s marrying the mother of his child. How that child came to be and how he met and partnered with his fiance and particularly how he disowned the child that was his is all quite disgraceful and forever disqualifies him for any position involving the public trust, and as satisfying as it would be for him to live the rest of his life sad and alone (with an STD, if possible), I’m not really sure whose interest that serves beyond a ghost’s.

    If true, this illustrates one of two things to me:
    (1) He’s marrying Hunter out of some sense of obligation. As deplorable as the surrounding circumstances are, this is perhaps making the best of a bad situation.
    (2) However inappropriately, he genuinely fell in love with Hunter. This doesn’t make his conduct at the time remotely acceptable, but I find that less disgusting than the notion of him having done all that for a cheap piece of tail. It’s why I am moderately less hostile towards Governor Sanford than I am towards Senator Ensign.

  5. tom p says:

    >>”Loving that WR is trying to use Edwards’ unfitness for office as a brush to taint Republicans. “>>>

    Sterling, HUHHH????

    Sanford? Ensign? VITTER???

    At least Edwards was embarressed enuf to leave the public eye. The other 3 are proud of what they did (or at least don’t think it is a big deal)