Huma Abedin behind Weiner's Decision to Resign - A Tough Road Ahead

Anthony Weiner is set to resign Thursday afternoon, ending his career as a seven-term Democratic congressman from New York.

The pressure for Weiner to resign mounted from Democrats as more photos and references of his sexting life were revealed. The entire scandal began when a lewd photo of Weiner was sent through Twitter to a woman in Seattle, on May 28.

After his awkward struggle to brush off the scandal, Weiner admitted sending the lewd photo and lying about the fact. Weiner then continued to insist on staying in Congress, saying his voters backed him up. Polls showed that indeed a majority wanted him to stay.

President Barack Obama addressed Weiner's scandal an interview on Monday saying, If it was me, I would resign. Because public service is exactly that: It's a service to the public. And when you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can't serve as effectively as you need to ... then you should probably step back.

Over the weekend, Weiner sought for treatment and requested a leave of absence from the House. While he was on a leave, more photos were published.

Weiner plans to announce his resignation today at 2 p.m. EST in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, according to sources.

Weiner began telling his most trusted advisers about his decision on Wednesday night by phone, informing them that it no longer seemed fair to his constituents and his colleagues for him to remain in office, the New York Times reported.

Huma Abedin, Weiner's pregnant wife and aide to Hillary Clinton, seems to have played a big part. On Wednesday night, Weiner called House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel, head of the Democrats' re-election committee in the House, the Associated Press reported. The congressman made the call after having a long discussion with his wife according sources.

Abedin returned returned early Wednesday from a week-long State Department trip to Africa. Weiner had said he would wait until Abedin returned before making a final decision on his plans, but had repeatedly told people his wife was behind him, and wanted him to fight back and was involved in his political comeback, reported Politico.

At the same time, multiple sources suggested that Abedin was consulting with Doug Band, Bill Clinton's top adviser and her best friend, and Band's wife, trying to make sense of the circumstances her husband had pushed her into. While the Clintons remain furious and silent toward Weiner, they are deeply supportive and protective of Abedin.

Will Weiner be able to save his barely 11-month marriage? Matt Titus, a love consultant at Hollywood Life, said that their marriage is salvageable, despite all the embarrassment. With the requisite visit to an in-treatment facility, paired with intense couples therapy, married couples could move forward in a healthy union, stated Titus.

While numerous wives of scandal-ridden politicians in the history have managed to save their political and marital life, Weiner's future is not so bright, especially with his first child on the way. Weiner, having worked in politics only, lacks experience in the private sector and will need to face the shameful consequence of his sexting life wherever he goes. Part of Weiner's focus for the last several days was exploring possible places to land, according to sources.