Rielle Hunter Gives the DL to GQ about John Edwards

Rielle and Quinn

Everyone is talking about Rielle Hunter, who was the mistress of John  Edwards and now the proven mother to his biological daughter and presumed love child, Quinn. In her exclusive GQ interview for which she accepted no money, Rielle discusses her relationship with John Edwards, how she met him, and what she really thinks of Elizabeth.

Still in her early 40’s, Rielle is attractive, wears a size 2 jeans, and is seemingly open about her relationship with John Edwards who she first met at the Regency hotel bar with friends.  She is very clear that she did not make the first move.

 According to her: “One thing I’ve learned about relationships and men is that you can never walk across the the room for a man.”

To me, this sounds a little surprising as it is comes from a woman who many liken to a Yoko Ono- the woman who ruined everything. As a self-proclaimed free-spirit, it’s more than a little interesting that she doesn’t believe in women hitting on men.

As Rielle points out, her relationship with John Edwards hasn't exactly been a fairy tale. Rielle pinpointed the difficult parts of her relationship with John Edwards as any time when he publicly stated his love for Elizabeth, when he refuted allegations that Quinn was his daughter, and also when John and Elizabeth Edwards renewed their wedding vows. None of this is that surprising, but I do find it interesting that Rielle was able to maintain her silence throughout this period, which suggests tremendous loyalty or ulterior motives that we don’t know yet.

Another thing that became clear throughout the interview was that Rielle is not afraid to denounce Elizabeth. She claimed that John Edward’s relationship with Elizabeth was “toxic” and that his “guilt of a double-life- it allowed him to accept the abuse.”

Rielle  then basically said that Elizabeth wasn’t willing to take any responsibility for the downfall of her marriage. Taking the man’s word for everything seems to be a tried and tested theme of “the other women” everywhere. Of course, in a 25-year marriage, both parties are responsible, but in my opinion, Rielle went too far when she said that all of John Edwards “errors in judgment” came from his “fear of the wrath of Elizabeth”.

Exactly how a politician fathering an illegitimate child while his wife is fighting cancer is really his wife’s fault still remains largely unclear to me.