It didn’t take long after Elizabeth died. I’m trying very hard to be positive here… At least this affair seems like more than a roll in the sheets for Edwards. There’s more to it than the stirrings of a horny old middle aged fool. Even after a couple years of bad press, a ruined marriage and his wrecked political future, these two still apparently want to be together. Their baby at least will benefit from a two parent home.
I wonder if Edwards may be almost broke by now? John and Elizabeth made a bunch of money as lawyers. They both stopped working fifteen years ago so he could enter politics. Elizabeth’s medical bills must have been staggering, even with health insurance. She probably maxed out her lifetime cancer coverage years ago.
<shrug> That’s their problem now. It’ll be interesting to see if John reopens his law practice.
I felt it was important to state a positive case in the OP. There’s always two sides of a story.
I wasn’t restricting the thread to that viewpoint.
I personally think it would have been better if Edwards would have waited at least six months to marry. Give his kids time to adjust and show respect to Elizabeth. Sadly, his conduct in this affair has been appalling all the way through. He hasn’t changed one bit.
How is a father having custody of his own children icky?
He cheated on his wife…he’s not a serial killer. I’m sure there are parents here on the dope that have custody of their own children that have done worse.
He also got his lover pregnant and had another man claim paternity; later admitted the affair but still denied paternity and refused to take a DNA test. All this shit while his wife is battling terminal cancer.
Not defending John Edwards, I’m just butting in to ask, what do you want a cite for?
That JE cheated? That he’s not a serial killer? Or of Wilbo523’s certainty? I’m just having a hard time imagining how any citation would be illuminating.
Well, he can cite his certainty, but he seems certain. He doesn’t have to cite an opinion that people have misbehaved – that’s purely opinion. I didn’t even consider the possibility that was what you meant, because it makes no sense. What’s “worse,” anyway?
The opinion of what is “worse” will likely be subjective, but after perusing the IMHO and MPSIMS forums over the years, I’ve read worse than adultry.
Use the search function.
I’m no John Edward fan, but to villify the man because he cheated on his sick wife…even to the point of implying that he shouldn’t have custody of his own children as the only living parent…is ridiculous.
The timing of this is so representative of John Edwards. He probably doesn’t even recognize the fact. Why even make such announcements? They both new they were going to get married. These things are seldom a surprise.
I doubt that Elizabeth had anything of cash value. That’s all that would interest John. I doubt that he is into furniture and pictures. Elizabeth’s changing her will was more of a statement of final rejection than anything else.
What I can’t get out of my head are the straight faced lies John told on TV and media about his affair not being true and later about the child not being his. It bothers me most because I believe people like this are running the country.
His engagement is tempered somewhat by the news that he remained by Elizabeth’s side as she lay dying. It reminded me of Prince Charles’ decision to walk behind Princess Di’s casket with his sons during her funeral march. After years of looking like a calloused asshole (“I don’t know that I ever loved her.”), he FINALLY made a decision that repaired some of his tattered image.
Of course, even HE realized that an *immediate *engagement would be ill-advised. :smack:
The boy Jack is ten. It seems unlikely he hasn’t read about this on the internet. Heck, he’ll probably reread the articles as he gets older.
Thinking back to my teens something like this would have shattered my image of my dad. Boys look up to their dads. I guess every kid reacts differently. Me? I would have popped him one in the nose when I left for good at 17. I had a temper at that age.
For the kids sake, I hope this blended family works.
Eh, look at it from his point of view. Yeah, they were still legally married when Elizabeth died, but they’d been emotionally divorced for years. Why bother getting legally divorced when she’s dying? Might as well just wait a year or two. In the meantime, you continue your separate life. Then after she dies, you announce your new life.
It’s the same story when you’re having a rocky patch with your girlfriend, and she breaks up with you, and a week later she’s dating some new guy. Wow, she moved on fast. Except, she already mentally broke up with you a long time ago, she just didn’t bother to tell you. It seems sudden to you, but not to her.
If it IS a real story, I’d hope the oldest child would sue for custody of the younger ones. The oldest is in her late 20’s an an attorney. The two younger ones are 10 and 12.
I’m no fan of Edwards, but that’s ridiculous. He’s the children’s father and has parental rights, which cannot and should not be severed absent some extremely extenuating circumstances (e.g. he’s a meth addict).
If the children want to be with their sister, on the other hand, then they can work that out privately. No need to involve lawyers to spend a bunch of money when there is zero doubt in my mind that she’d LOSE. My husband’s parents both died when he was in his late teens/early 20s and his older brother got custody of the two minors. It wasn’t an ideal situation because he was in his early 20s and the siblings didn’t respect him as an authority figure, nor did he act like one.
