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Edwardses Candid in Oprah Interview

Elizabeth and John talk candidly about their difficult year

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2009 3:20 PM CDT

(Newser) – Oprah Winfrey’s interview with John and Elizabeth Edwards was intensely personal, reports the Huffington Post, particularly on their marital troubles. Referencing revelations in Elizabeth’s memoir, Resilience, Winfrey asked John if the book’s treatment of his affair made him uncomfortable. “I think that’s up to her, you know?” he responded. “That’s what this whole—this book is about, and it’s what’s inside her, what she feels. It’s what it should be.”

Though she allowed candid discussion of both her husband’s affair and her battle with cancer, Elizabeth Edwards did not allow the name Rielle Hunter—John’s former mistress—to be uttered on air. She considers Hunter’s seduction of her husband a grab for attention, and doesn’t want to gratify her. “It’s not about this woman,” Elizabeth said. “It’s about this family.”

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This photo shows talk-show host Oprah Winfrey with former presidential candidate John Edwards, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Emma Claire Edwards at their home in Chapel Hill, NC, on March 28, 2009. (Harpo Productions)

In a 2008 file photo, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, speaks during a press conference on health care in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo)

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The Edwardses, interviewed on Oprah. (oprahedwards)

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If somebody wants to stand in the light that shines on John, that's one thing. If they work at destroying my family and my home in order to get into that light, I'm really not interested in them being in the light too much.
- Elizabeth Edwards

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Edwardses Candid in Oprah Interview