Jenny Sanford and the Governor, in better days.
When Governor Mark Sanford last week made a tearful confession that he had been having an affair with a woman in Argentina, notably absent from his side was South Carolina’s first lady, Jenny Sanford.
In what has become a tradition for politicians’ wives, standing stoically by your man as they detailed a variety of sordid affairs, Jenny Sanford has clearly broken with those ranks.
In 2007 there was Wendy Vitter standing at the side of US Senator David Vitter as he confessed to being a regular client of the DC Madam. The Louisiana Republican, a noted spokesman for conservative family values, and wife, Wendy have four children.
In 2008 a sad and stone faced Silda Wall Spitzer stood at her husband’s side as he acknowledged that news reports claiming he was a regular client of a high priced prostitution ring were indeed true. Spitzer, who had just one year earlier began his term as governor of New York, resigned his office five days later.
In 2004 an absolutely stunned Dina Matos McGreevey stood next to her husband, then New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, as he confessed to being a gay man who had put on the state’s payroll his male lover.
There are of course other famous wives, Elizabeth Edwards and Hillary Clinton to name two. Both of whom have shared with Oprah, Sixty Minutes, and others the pain they felt over episodes of marital deceit only to faithfully restore their marriages.
Enter into this arena Jenny Sanford, a successful, well educated business woman, who managed husband Mark’s two previous successful campaigns for governor.
Last Thursday, a day after her husband came clean with the press and his constituents about his mysterious six day disappearance, reporters caught up with her at the couples South Carolina seashore vacation home. When asked if she was concerned about the impact that the revelations of the governor’s affair may have on his political career she said, “His career is not a concern of mine. He’s going to have to worry about that. I’m worried about my family and the character of my children.”
Friends, who say of Jenny Sanford that she would happily miss a White House reception in order to attend one of her four sons school plays, apparently learned of her husband’s infidelity in January of this year. Shortly before his disappearance, the governor told his wife that he needed time alone to write and he was going to go off on a hiking trip for several days along the Appalachian trail. According to the New York times, Jenny Sanford ”specifically warned him not to see his mistress. She said she was reportedly devastated when he went to meet her in Argentina.”
Friends of the South Carolina first lady tell the media that they are not the least bit surprised by her actions calling her a strong and independent woman. As Jenny Sanford explained last week to members of the press, “It’s one thing to forgive adultery. It’s another to condone it.”
We’ll have to wait and see how the story develops from this point, but it is safe to say that Mrs. Sanford has shattered the image of the forever loyal political wife who no matter what her husbands misdeeds can always be found faithfully standing at his side.
_______________________________________________
More MarsVenusLiving.com Articles on Relationships
Why Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Sexercise: Fitness Never Felt So Good!
Four Kisses a Day Keep Divorce Away
Why Romances Makes Sense(s): All 5 of Them
Great Sex Makes for a Better Marriage
What She Can Do When He’s Not In the Mood
A Kiss Is a Kiss? Hardly! It’s a Biology Test
Our Top 7 Random Acts of Passion
_______________________________________________
Want to Heat Up Your Love Life? Read
I think she did the RIGHT thing by NOT being there.
They had already begun reconciliation and working on a fix for the broken trust. She needs to maintain her self respect for her sake and the sake of her family. I don’t think she could have done that after having done all she could to save her marriage, just to have him cheat AGAIN. I agree, it would have looked like she was condoning his repeated actions.
[...] As we reported back on June 29th, “In what has become a tradition for politicians’ wives, standing stoically by your man as they detailed their sordid affairs, Jenny Sanford has clearly broken ranks.” Unlike some other famous first ladies, Mrs. Silda Wall Spitzer of New York, and Dina Matos McGreevey, of New Jersey, to name two, who stood next to their husbands as they discussed their extra marital affairs with the media; Jenny Sanford was nowhere to be found. In fact Ms. Sanford, who is independently wealthy, packed up and moved out of the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion with her belongings and the couples’ four sons. In the months since their split, she has rebuffed Mr. Sanford’s efforts at reconciliation. [...]