Aug 8, 2008 10:49 pm US/Central
'U Of M' Doctor Explains Edwards' Admitted Affair
(WCCO)
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Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) accepts an award at the World Hunger Year on June 9, 2008, at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
Will Ragozzino/Getty Images
A politician who had aspirations of becoming President has admitted to cheating on his wife as she battled cancer.
When the 'National Enquirer' broke news of the affair last year, John Edwards called the story "completely untrue, ridiculous." He called a follow-up report last month "tabloid trash."
Despite those denials, Edwards said he did sleep with another woman during his wife's medical fight.
"There are these risky times," said Dr. Bill Doherty, a Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Family Social Science. "Clinically, I've seen a number of couples where a wife is diagnosed with a chronic illness, that it's not uncommon for men to have an affair."
John Edwards ran as a Democratic Presidential Candidate and at one point spoke in St. Paul. The affair with Rielle Hunter put him at the center of personal and ethical issues.
Hunter says the two met at a business meeting in New York in 2006. She gave birth to a little girl in February. The birth certificate lists no father, and Edwards has repeatedly said the child is not his.
John Edwards told ABC News his wife's cancer was in remission when the affair happened.
"When men are under stress, they're more apt for doing something out there, go and drink more, spend more money, do riskier things and including having affairs," said Dr. Doherty.
"I made a serious error in judgment. If you want to beat me up, feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare," said Edwards in a statement.
"Men in married relationships tend to be more dependent emotionally on their wives than their wives are on them," said Dr. Doherty.
When the wife isn't available emotionally, "This tends to be stressful for a lot of men, and a proportion of those men are going to be more susceptible to another woman coming along," added Doherty.
John Edwards said today that's he been honest with his family and even told them about the affair two years ago.
Because of when the affair happened and when the little girl was born, he said he knows he's not the father and is willing to take a test to prove it. One of his former campaign aides claims to be the father of the little girl.
Dr. Doherty has counseled couples on marriage and he says through therapy, they often re-prioritize their marriage and even come out stronger.
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