Rielle Hunter Exposes Details of John Edwards Affair ... - Gather.com

Rielle Hunter says she's still in love with "Johnny" Edwards and believes he loves her, claiming they first went to bed together on the day they met, according to a new article in GQ magazine. Illustrated by some fairly questionable photos -- including a bare-legged Hunter surrounded by children's toys -- the would-be bombshell also remarks that Edwards' marriage was "toxic," that he feared "the wrath of Elizabeth,"and that John-Boy is "supportive of me talking now."

The 10,000-word (!!) article is written by Lisa DePaulo, whom the Washington Post notes briefly worked as a ghostwriter on Edwards campaign aide Andrew Young's own tell-all book, The Politician. You may recall that Young originally claimed that Hunter's love child was actually his, allegedly with Edwards' blessing. The Post notes that the Hunter-Young connection is not disclosed in the article, so there's plenty of charming details to go around here.

For her part, Hunter -- who actually put some pants on for a photograph with daughter Frances -- tells GQ that it was Young's idea for the paternity cover-up, and that she had no idea how much money was being funneled to her from top campaign donors. It's a situation we've all been in: Not knowing just how much cash a high-profile politician is giving us to keep our mouths shut.

Of Young, Hunter tells GQ, "I believe he loved Johnny more than he loved [his wife] Cheri," raising some interesting issues that the magazine elects not to pursue.

Other choice tidbits: According to Hunter, Edwards hasn't "fallen from grace... he's fallen to grace," and astrology told her he shouldn't run for president anyway. ("Astrology" told me the same thing, oddly enough.) Despite popular reports, "Johnny" never promised a Dave Matthews Band concert at their own wedding. And while she continues to receive child support from Edwards, she and Frances now live in a rental home; although the Edwardses bought her a house in Charlotte, she says, she cannot afford to live there.

Well, not until a few more articles and the inevitable book deal, of course.

 

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.