Elizabeth and John Edwards Dish on Affair
The political couple spill to Oprah about Edwards' adultery
By CAITLIN MILLAT
Updated 4:22 PM EST, Thu, May 7, 2009
Elizabeth and John Edwards spoke candidly about the affair that's plagued their marriage to Oprah Thursday, saying they're trying to work through the adultery to rebuild their once-loving union.
The Edwards couple dished about Sen. John Edwards' infidelity with mistress Rielle Hunter, who Oprah was instructed not to mention during the interview that was filmed at the couple's home in North Carolina.
Elizabeth Edwards talked about Hunter anyway, saying her fling with husband John was an attempt to "destroy" her family and showed a lack of respect for women everywhere.
"Women need to have respect for other women," said Edwards, who will reportedly discuss the affair further in her memoir, "Resilience."
"You can't just knock on that door and say you're out, I'm in," Edwards said about Hunter, who claims her daughter was fathered by John.
"If you admire that life, you can't just take it. Build your own," she said.
Oprah grilled the former North Carolina Senator and presidential also-ran about whether he thought Elizabeth would leave him when she learned of his extramarital affairs.
"I didn't know. I think the honest truth is I didn't know. I didn't know what she would do," Sen. Edwards said. "I don't think anybody does when they go through something like this."
Hunter reportedly seduced Edwards with the pick-up line "you are so hot," Elizabeth told Oprah.
"John went to dinner at a nearby restaurant, and when he walked back to the hotel, she was standing in front of the hotel. She said to him, 'you are so hot,'" Edwards said with a laugh.
Previously released excerpts from the interview showed Elizabeth Edwards saying she "has no idea" if Hunter's baby was fathered by her husband.
"Whatever the facts are doesn't change my life," she said.
Both Elizabeth and John said they're working to rebuild their marriage but that overcoming trust issues will be the biggest obstacle they'll face.
"There's a lot of adjustments to make. And when you talk about trust, I think that's probably the most difficult hurdle," the Senator's wife said. She and John would have a "perfect marriage" were it not for the Hunter affair, she said.
John Edwards broke a long silence about the affair, telling Oprah that he "loves" Elizabeth and wants to make it work with his wife, who was diagnosed last year with cancer.
"I feel like we're getting to it. It's not over, but we're getting to it," he said about his wife. "I love her. I care about her."
Elizabeth had doubts that the couple could ever get back to where they were before the Hunter ordeal.
"The way we were is no longer," she said.
First Published: May 7, 2009 1:41 PM EST
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