Advertisement

Opinion: Jenny Sanford says you-know-who is a you-know-what

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

South Carolina’s moved-out First Lady Jenny Sanford has been seeking help and support from her pastor -- and is spending some quality talking time with a therapist.

And what she’s discovered, according to reports of an interview in the upcoming September issue of Vogue magazine, is that her estranged husband is an addict.

Advertisement

That’s right: Gov. Mark Sanford might as well face it, he’s addicted to love. Remember earlier this year when the South Carolina Republican was not off traipsing the Appalachian Trail on nude hiking day but was actually in Buenos Aires doing something else with a female e-mail friend there?

In the Vogue interview, Jenny Sanford compares his out-of-control lust for Argentinian Maria Belen Chapur to the compulsions of an alcoholic or someone who can’t stay away from the XXX channels.

“Over the course of both pastoral and marriage counseling,’ Jenny Sanford is said to have said to the magazine, ‘it became clear to me that he was just obsessed with going to see this woman. I have learned that these affairs are almost like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. They just can’t break away from them.”

Uh-huh.

Sanford moved out of the governor’s mansion last week, and her astute husband, showing a keen grasp of the obvious, allowed as to how his political days are over.

In Vogue, Jenny Sanford goes on to say: “It never occurred to me that he would do something like that,” and that when she and the gov first met, there was more the warm glow of camaraderie than the wild flames of passion.

She understands the desire to escape the pressures of living in the spotlight: “I’d like somebody 5,000 miles away I could e-mail. It’s not exclusive to men, but I know that isn’t realistic.”

She’s open to salvaging her marriage: “All I can do is forgive. Reconciliation is something else, and that is going to be a harder road. I have put my heart and soul into being a good mother and wife. Now I think it’s up to my husband to do the soul-searching to see if he wants to stay married. The ball is in his court.”

Advertisement

She’s feels bad for the other woman: “I am sure she is a fine person. It can’t be fun for her, though I do sometimes question her judgment. If she knew the newspaper had those e-mails back in December, why did she want him to come in June? But I can’t go there too much. All I can do is pray for her because she made some poor choices.’

Pray for her? Really?!?

Just once, it’d be great if one of these women who’s been dragged through the media circus by her unfaithful partner were to say something along the lines of, “Yes, I still love him. Yes, I’m hurt and angry and stunned. Yes, I want to club him and his chippy with this baseball bat. Yes, this bat. The one I’m holding right now.” You know you want to hear that, too.

And by the way….Vogue? This is where a woman betrayed goes to unburden her soul? Tucked between the fragrance ads and the breathless exuberance over the fall clothing trends?

Guess so. The issue hits newsstands next week. Cue the Robert Palmer soundtrack...

-- P.J. Huffstutter

Ticket items are rated PG. Get your alerts delivered from Twitter by clicking here. Or following us @latimestot

Advertisement