Rielle Hunter Sits Down with Oprah Winfrey

Destined to go down in the annals as one of the most riveting and by turns, disturbing scandals in political history, the sordid story of John Edwards, his wife Elizabeth and his mistress Rielle Hunter, has kept the nation transfixed. The lurid tale was punctuated by a sex tape, an illegitimate child, a cover-up and allegations of misappropriated campaign funds to support the deception. Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards' estranged wife and Andrew Young, the former presidential candidate's aide have had their moment with Oprah Winfrey over the scandal that brought down both a marriage and promising political career. It was Rielle Hunter's turn today, as she met with Oprah to discuss everything from how she met John Edwards, the sex tape and that infamous "GQ" photo spread.

Oprah wasted no time diving into how Rielle is perceived by the public, particularly honing in on some of the labels she's been given including "gold digger" and "home wrecker. Rielle denied she was either of those things, with a definitive "absolutely not," and went on to say, "I do not believe I wrecked his home," because "people bought into the myth of the marriage."

At times, Rielle giggled like a school girl as she described how she first met John Edwards (whom she calls Johnny) at a hotel in New York City in 2006. She claimed not to know who he was, but found something about him to be "alive, authentic and real." Rielle, a videographer who is credited with being one of the first to embrace the power of YouTube, said her motivation in approaching John Edwards was to help him. She told him he was "hot" and wanted to help that quality, among others, come across to the public. He passed along his hotel room number, and Rielle went to meet him. Oprah questioned Rielle about whether or not she knew he was married and the wisdom of going to a married man's hotel room. Rielle responded she didn't think it weird or awkward and the affair began that night.

Rielle was eventually hired to shoot Webisodes for the Edwards presidential campaign as the affair continued unabated. Rielle admitted within a matter of days she was in love and thought many times about ending it, due to his still being married, but that "our hearts were louder than the mind." Rielle discussed how Elizabeth Edwards found out about the affair (through a cell phone Rielle had purchased for John Edwards) and as a result, John Edwards subsequently ended their liaison. Rielle said she never believed it was over and Oprah was dumbfounded that Rielle and John Edwards seemed to think Elizabeth would never find out. Rielle denied that was their thinking, but that he had been lying to his wife and trying to juggle his personal problems. (John Edwards told Elizabeth the affair with Rielle was nothing more than a one-night stand.)

Things got even worse when Rielle became pregnant. Rielle claimed John Edwards was "gracious" when he found out and never told her to get an abortion. During Rielle's pregnancy, the Edwards' renewed their wedding vows, which Rielle said crushed her because she knew he was "living a lie." A photo of the pregnant Rielle would start to poke holes in John Edwards' façade and thus an elaborate cover-up ensued. According to Rielle, Andrew Young, John Edwards' longtime aide came up with the idea to claim paternity (something Young denies, who says it was Edwards' plan). Rielle said her "biggest regret was going along with it," but for the sake of her child, felt she had to. Rielle teared up when talking about the effect the situation would have on her daughter. It would be almost a month before John Edwards met his fifth child.

Oprah asked Rielle how she felt about the infamous interview the former senator did with Bob Woodruff, where he categorically denied he was the father of Rielle's baby. Rielle said Elizabeth urged him to do the interview in order to get ahead of the brewing scandal (at this point, Elizabeth still didn't know the extent of her husband's betrayal.) She said she was "devastated" after she watched it and that he called her later to say, "it didn't mean anything."

Throughout the interview, Rielle spoke frequently about "truth" and telling her truth and how important honesty is to her. In the "GQ" interview, Rielle claimed John Edwards doesn't lie to her, a point Oprah pressed her on, particularly because he lied about the affair and the baby. Rielle responded that she "knows him like the back of her hand" and that he lied to "fix" problems.

Two of the most scintillating elements of the scandal were the discovery of a sex tape Rielle made with John Edwards and the "GQ" photo spread, which was roundly considered to be in bad taste (one photo showed Rielle clad in pearls, a man's white dress shirt and no pants, lounging on the bed among her daughter's stuffed animals.) Oprah asked why they made the tape and Rielle admitted at the time they weren't thinking, but that she later cut it and pulled the tape out (Andrew Young said he and his wife discovered the destroyed tape at his home and taped it back together; he eventually turned it over to authorities). Rielle admitted she should have burned it and has filed a suit against Young for invasion of privacy. With regard to the photos, Rielle called them a "huge mistake" and all she wanted was at least one sexy photo of herself to combat all the photos in the media where she looks like "the Wicked Witch of the West." Oprah pegged it as an ego move.

Oprah wrapped up the interview by asking Rielle if she felt she hurt Elizabeth. Rielle dodged the question by saying they'd all been hurt during the process. Oprah called her on her fancy footwork and asked again. Rielle responded by saying she'd have to ask Elizabeth. Oprah asked multiple times (and in multiple ways) if Rielle and John Edwards were a couple. Rielle repeatedly said the relationship was private and wouldn't share any details. She did indicate she wasn't sure she wanted to marry and believes the lessons she learned were to be more compassionate and more aware.

John Edwards has so far remained silent in the media on the aftermath of the affair and resulting controversy. Time will tell if he has his own mea culpa with Oprah.

Sources:

"The Oprah Winfrey Show"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rielle_Hunter
Lisa DePaulo, Hello, America, My Name is Rielle Hunter, GQ