Rielle Hunter Book Reveals ?What Really Happened? During John Edwards Affair
Rielle Hunter, the former mistress of John Edwards and the mother of his illegitimate daughter, has written a tell-all book about her notorious affair with the two-time Presidential hopeful.
What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me is being published by BenBella Books and will hit stores on June 26.
Hunter met Edwards in February of 2006 at a bar in the New York Regency Hotel. Hunter told GQ magazine that their affair begain the same night. The meeting also landed her a new gig: She was hired as a videographer for Edwards' second presidential campaign. In July 2007, more than one year after Hunter and Edwards met, she discovered she was pregnant with their child. She quietly gave birth to Frances Quinn Hunter the following February.
Andrew Young, a former campaign aide for Edwards, would claim paternity in an attempt by the Edwards campaign to cover up the affair and hide it from his wife, the late Elizabeth Edwards.
But not everyone was convinced. At first, Edwards denied having an affair with Hunter. He subsequently admitted to having an affair, but denied being the father of her child. Eventually, in January 2010, Edwards finally gave in and admitted he was indeed Frances Quinn's dad.
Edwards became the target of a public skewering for his affair with Hunter, which took place as his wife battled a longstanding bout with breast cancer. Elizabeth Edwards formally separated from her husband in January 2010, and died in December of the same year.
The Associated Press purchased a copy of Hunter's memoir and released a few details, including Hunter's experiences with the paparazzi after news of the affair broke. Hunter wrote that Edwards is a good father.
He is a great dad to her when he is with her, Hunter wrote, according to the AP.
Hunter also wrote about the day Edwards was indicted, and how they were speaking on the phone when a reporter banged on a door of her home in Charlotte, N.C., the AP reported.
ABC News also obtained a copy of Hunter's memoir, and reported that Hunter wrote that she was not Edwards' first or only mistress. She also wrote that she is unsure about the future of her relationship with Edwards: I really have no idea what will happen with us. The jury is still out. But I can honestly say that the ending is of no concern to me anymore. The love is here. And as sappy as it may sound, I love living in love.
Hunter slammed Edward's late wife, Elizabeth, in her memoir. She referred to the older woman as a witch on wheels who worked to present a public persona as a saint, ABC News reported.
Hunter also regretted going along with the short-lived lie that Young was really the father of her then-unborn child.
Of all the things that happened in my relationship with Johnny the thing that I regret the most is going along with this stupid idea and allowing this lie to go public, Hunter wrote, ABC News reported.
Hunter's memoir is coming out shortly after Edwards went on trial for allegedly misusing campaign funds to keep his illegitimate daughter -- and the nature of his relationship with Hunter -- under wraps. A jury acquitted Edwards on one count but deadlocked on five other counts. The judge declared a mistrial and prosecutors said they would not pursue the case anymore, so Edwards is in the clear.
But had Edwards been convicted, there was a real possibility that he would end up in prison.
According to the AP, Hunter reveals in her memoir that she considered relocating with her daughter so that they would live close to the prison in which Edwards would be incarcerated. Edwards, Hunter wrote, thought he would end up in a Virginia prison.
So Quinn and I will move to Virginia, Hunter said, according to her book. Virginia is a great state.
Hunter will speak with ABC's 20/20 on Friday.
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