Mark Sanford 'Worse Than Eliot Spitzer': Son

Jenny Sanford's memoir also paints cheating hubby as cheapskate
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2010 7:41 AM CST
Mark Sanford 'Worse Than Eliot Spitzer': Son
A Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006, file photo shows South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, joined by wife Jenny and sons, after winning his second term by defeating Democrat Tommy Moore, in Columbia, SC.   (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

Before Mark Sanford made “hiking the Appalachian trail” into a household phrase, one person knew his affair scandal would be big news: His 12-year-old son. It’s “worse than Eliot Spitzer,” Bolton told mom Jenny when she broke the news of Mark’s cheating to their boys. In her memoir Staying True, coming out Friday, Jenny also reveals Mark continued “pestering” her for permission to see mistress Maria Belen Chapur, the New York Daily News reports.

Jenny recalls discovering evidence of the affair in January 2009, making her feel “ugly, unwanted” and “dirty.” Though Mark initially promised to end the relationship, Jenny later gave him permission to see Chapur—with a chaperone—for “closure.” But the Sanfords’ original temporary separation turned permanent in June, when Mark’s continued relationship with Chapur made headlines. The divorce is expected to be finalized this month.
(More Mark Sanford stories.)

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