Elizabeth was also battling breast cancer at the time, amplifying the scandal further still. He insisted that his campaign manager Andrew Young was the father. The same year, he and his wife separated and she lost her battle with cancer. MORE: Edwards admits fathering child with mistress.
It was in the middle of a campaign. I didn't want to be the one to bring down an entire campaign. So Elizabeth's cancer comes back in March. When do you think you got pregnant? And on July 30, John and Elizabeth renewed their wedding vows. What was that like for you? Um… it was challenging. When you're in love with someone who takes actions that go against your belief system, it's extremely challenging to continue loving, instead of becoming righteous and judgmental.
But see, I believed, and believe, that what I see in him is there and correct. He's a good man and he will figure it out. And he has and is figuring it out.
He told me, in fact, the first time she mentioned it. That she wanted to do this. And it was… it was challenging. This is their relationship. You know, keep in mind—and I'm not defending his actions at all—but they'd been together for a long time. So the dynamic is old and complicated. I was 43 years old, you know, and pregnant? And I had never been pregnant in my life. Didn't think I could get pregnant. He already knew. Because I felt different. He suspected I was pregnant. And I kept thinking I wasn't.
But he felt that I was. And so when I told him on the phone, he wasn't shocked. It was just the official "Yeah, I am. He was always very gracious about it.
And always said that he would support whatever decision I made. But I believe on some level he was hoping I would get an abortion. Because he didn't—he wasn't happy about the timing. Which is understandable. And I find it interesting that my daughter thought that would be a good time to come into the world. That daddy was running for president and married to someone else. Oh, complete happiness. Because I felt with all of my being that I needed to bring this little child into the world.
That I was blessed. And it just happened to me. And I love her daddy. She was conceived in love. She is a love child. No, there were no fights. He was very gracious, but I always felt the underlying discontent in his graciousness.
I remember one time in Miami—or was it Orlando? But he said to me, he was like, "There's just nothing I can say to make you change your mind about this. And I just felt like Quinnie needed to come into the world and this wasn't our timing, this was divine timing and he needed to get on board. And figure that one out. And it's interesting, because it's not over yet.
That's the other thing. Everyone has such judgments about "He's lost everything. He's gone through an amazing transformation.
And who knows what's gonna happen. My stint as a mistress ended July And then our relationship evolved into something different. That was when the National Enquirer —the whole Beverly Hilton thing. That changed our relationship. It changed him; it changed everything. And my stint as a mistress ended. And I was and am happy about that. How exactly did that deal come about? Whose idea was it for you to shoot campaign videos?
Oh, I pitched him. I definitely pitched him. Because his public persona just did not match who he is. And by the way, it doesn't still. It's gone in the complete opposite direction. It's gone from, you know, "He's so great and so wonderful" to "Now he's the biggest disappointment ever. I'm huge into documentaries, it's my true love, and I thought it would be a great thing for people to see what I see, through my eyes.
I think I might have pitched him in April []. I met him in February, and I think I pitched him in April. Now, did you think, on some level, that this would be a way to spend more time with him? Oh yeah! That was definitely part of it. I mean, if you're in love with someone, you want to be with them all the time. So not only would it be a great thing for everyone involved… I mean, I thought [the Webisodes] were pretty good.
It was actually used to make really great webisodes. He didn't just hire me; he hired my whole team. We were doing real work. Just like when… [gestures at the paparazzi outside] You develop a system. And we had a system.
Being a mistress was not easy for me. It was a huge learning experience. You know, there have been so many accounts that I "targeted" him and that I went after him because of all the stuff that he was. That's not true. If Johnny was working at a gas station, I would still be in love with him. And she's now just starting to talk, so do you talk about daddy?
I saw you have a picture of him in her room. He is doing the right thing. And he's a great father. Once Johnny and Elizabeth separated, we were able to move forward quite quickly. And it has to do with him not hiding in order to see his daughter. He very much wants to be in her life full—time, and he doesn't want to hide. So what was he like when you went through your pregnancy, while he was campaigning for president? Oh, he was—he is so loving.
I remember the day I found out it was a girl. He was thrilled about that. He thought that was very cool. Johnny called me in recovery, and we spoke all night on the phone from the hospital. He went through the whole process with me. Johnny wasn't over the moon about Frances.
So I was coming up with names, and Quinn is a name that I loved, and that was the only name that he thought was cool. And so I named her Quinn because Daddy really liked it. The word hussy has been used. And kooky gets used a lot.
I think that I can give someone kooky, you know? I'm not conventional, I don't fit into a box. But I am grounded. Don't mistake… I am very grounded.
People also say I'm crazy. And there's no crazy about me. At all. It's so fascinating to me, the projection. Like, the people that have written about me? They see me in a certain way based on their own stuff. Perception is projection. Because from Josh's perspective, I seemed weird and wacky. But in his mind, I'm dressed to go to a Grateful Dead concert. Total projection!
Do you think it's the not-fitting-into-a-box that Johnny fell in love with? There are some parts of that. Johnny doesn't fit into a box in a lot of ways, either.
There's a big part of him that's unconventional. And then there's a large part of him that is the North Carolina, southern, traditional, conventional guy who's older. One thing that jumped out to me from Game Change was that you "flirted outlandishly with every man.
Oh, my god, that is so hilarious to me, because I was so in love with Johnny. Why would I be flirting with anybody else? Men misread this all the time. If you're open and look someone in the eye, they think you're flirting with them! Because, Oh, my God, somebody's listening to me. So a lot of men think that I'm coming on to them if I'm actually just listening to them.
Apparently he's bought me many houses! And yet I'm living in a rental. It's my understanding that he and Elizabeth, before they separated, bought a house in Charlotte that they apparently thought would be a good place for Quinn to live. They wanted to rent it to us, and I couldn't afford it.
We do not live in the house, nor do we have any plans to move into it. Johnny's been helping a little bit. But you know, I need to work. So Johnny had been helping. But now I know what Quinn is getting, and I need to work. Andrew Young claims you had a conversation on the porch in the rain at Johnny's house about getting married with a rooftop wedding and the Dave Matthews Band.
Is that true? We were on the porch, and it was raining. Those are the only facts that are correct about that night in Andrew's book. It astonishes me. The story is good enough without all the lies. Andrew drove me back to my hotel, the Marriott in Meadowmont [in Chapel Hill]. I'll say this about Andrew's book: If his grand-jury testimony matches his book, I would suspect that they will be looking at him for many, many counts of perjury.
You spent nine hours before the grand jury. What did they seem most interested in? They spent a lot of time asking me detailed questions about Andrew Young, and about my relationship with Johnny. They asked a lot of questions about the sex tape.
For what, not firing Andrew Young ten years ago? No, absolutely not. I do not think Johnny will be indicted. I think Andrew and [his wife] Cheri's motivations are mid. They are scorned. Andrew was in love with Johnny. And, um—. In love with him. And I believe he loved Johnny more than he loved Cheri. So Johnny was the third person in their relationship. And I'm sure she hates Johnny, because Andrew took a lot of obvious actions that were for Johnny and not for Cheri. But Cheri went along with them.
And they both have a way of spinning things. But a lot of their motivation is money. It was Andrew's idea. The first time Andrew said it, I was on the phone with Johnny, and Johnny was screaming at me about the National Enquirer finding me and photographing me. He was very angry. And Johnny doesn't scream. He's not a screamer. But he was screaming at me that day, and Andrew suggested, right then and there, "Hey, tell him that I'll claim I'm the father.
I was on the phone with Johnny. Andrew was sitting next to me. Not on the phone. But offering the idea as I was talking. He said, "Tell him I can always claim that I'm the father.
I looked at Andrew like, "Are you out of your mind? I think Johnny's initial reaction was that it was a bit crazy, but, you know, maybe. And I just thought it was insane. And I thought for sure Cheri would never go along with it and Cheri would be the out.
And Cheri went along with it. It was a really—I don't mean to understate it at all, it was a really hard time in my life. I was on the couch pregnant, and I just felt like I… it was devastating for me, because it went against all of my belief systems. And to go along with this insane plan… but I eventually made the choice to do it, and I did it because I thought that it was the best thing for Quinn.
I was a little unsure of what would happen with her relationship with her father, and I didn't want to be… I didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her relationship with her dad. And that's why I went along with it. I felt that if he dropped out [of the race] and blamed her, for coming into the world, that that would be something I didn't know if she could get over. Or they could get over. So that's why I went along with it. I didn't want her held—or her to feel—responsible. Because you know how kids are.
They take on the responsibility even though it's not theirs, and become overresponsible. Let's talk about the sex tape. I know you're in litigation right now and it's the one thing your lawyers have advised you not to talk about. But what were you thinking? I'd love to answer that. But I filed papers and we're in a lawsuit, and I just can't talk about it. The truth of all that will come out in court.
I think like I do with everything: the truth eventually reveals itself. And we're all here to grow and evolve. And I think Andrew will grow and evolve, even if it's behind bars. Let's talk about the money. There are reports now of a huge amount—over a million dollars—coming from two donors, Bunny Mellon and the late Fred Baron, to support you and the Youngs [while they kept up the ruse that Young was the father].
What exactly were you aware of? I was not aware of how much money Andrew was receiving. When I became aware, in May '08, of how much Fred was sending him, I wanted to have nothing to do with Andrew anymore. Because I felt that I was being used [by the Youngs] for them to pocket money. And I wanted no part of it. And I believe when Johnny became aware of that is when he wanted no part of Andrew as well.
And he told me it was on the up-and-up and it was a gift. I had no idea where it was coming from. But in May '07, you didn't even know you were pregnant yet. What did you think the money was for? Andrew gave me money because he felt I shouldn't be using my own money to travel to see Johnny. Andrew always wanted to "take care of everything.
He was seductive in how he took care of things and insisted that you have things. And a lot of times, Johnny had no idea what he was up to, nor did he ask him to do it.
The dynamic was: Andrew always taking care of things without telling Johnny or anyone else what he was doing, and claiming he was doing it "On the senator's behalf. And took care of everything. Every little detail he was always offering: "Let me do this.
Get a massage, you need a massage, you deserve it," or "Pick out whatever car you want. I'll take care of it, you deserve it, please. A used BMW. Now he says I'm the big diva. When it was all upon his insistence, almost to the point of fights over and over again.
We get along great. I think he has a real soft spot for her. He does. Hunter, then an unknown actress and movie producer, began her affair with the then-U.
The affair continued even when Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, had a recurrence of breast cancer. Tabloid rumors of the affair persisted until , when Edwards admitted to having fathered a child with Hunter.
That child, Quinn, was born in The fallout was intense. Elizabeth Edwards died in after a six-year battle with breast cancer.
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