Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Jenny Sanford: No Way Was I Standing By Him

South Carolina's first lady gives an interview to Barbara Walters

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 8, 2009 3:35 PM CST

(Newser) – Jenny Sanford tells Barbara Walters that her philandering husband didn't ask her to play the faithful wife at his mea culpa press conference, and she wouldn't have considered it anyway. "If he had asked me, I would have said no," said South Carolina's first lady. "Certainly his actions hurt me, and they caused consequences for me, but they don't in any way take away my own self-esteem. They reflect poorly on him."

Sanford says she knew her husband was having an affair weeks before his infamous trip to Argentina. "What people didn't know was that I had asked Mark to leave," she says in the ABC interview to air tomorrow. "And he was to have no contact with the boys or myself for 30 days. And my hope was that he would wake up from whatever he was in the throes of and maybe see what he might lose."

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, left, and first lady Jenny Sanford, right, welcome guests at the Governor's Mansion in Columbia, S.C., for a Christmas Open House on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, left, and first lady Jenny Sanford, right, welcome guests at the Governor's Mansion in Columbia, S.C., for a Christmas Open House on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009.   (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)
Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, speaks about her husband's affair in June.
Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, speaks about her husband's affair in June.   (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)
Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, in a June file photo.
Jenny Sanford, wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, in a June file photo.   (AP Photo/Alice Keeney, File)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
6%
0%
19%
25%
38%
13%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 22 comments
Shannonals
Dec 9, 2009 10:52 AM CST
Now your slamming a GOP spouse because her loser husband put her in the limelight MrsK? Next you'll be saying it's because of her he cheated on her in the first place. It's stunning that you would wish the cheating husband his fondest wishes, and than condone his wife who is the innocent in this trash.
Shannonals
Dec 9, 2009 10:42 AM CST
Jenny Sanford should do what Liz Edwards and Hilary Clinton shoudl have done, and that is divorce the creep. Exactly how is Jenny Sanford a strong conservative woman if by her own statements she wanted him out for a certain number of days? That implies she was willing to take the loser back, not making a definite stand.
MrsK
Dec 9, 2009 8:34 AM CST
Amen. I hope Sanford follows his heart and moves to Argentina away from that attention whore wife of his.
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne