Aug 14, 2008 7:03 pm US/Eastern
Elizabeth Edwards Reacts To Husband John's Affair
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Elizabeth Edwards listens to her husband, former democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, at a news conference concerning the return of her cancer March 22, 2007, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sara D. Davis/Getty Images
New details are coming out about Elizabeth Edwards' reaction to her husband John's affair.
She had a choice to make: kick him out or stay in the 30-year marriage. Friends say it was a wrenching decision for her.
In the end it came down to fears about her own mortality and worry for her kids.
"This is a woman who's got a terminal disease and two young children, and a grown child," People Magazine Senior Editor Patrick Rogers said. "What we learned was that what was paramount in her thinking was, 'I need to stay with my husband, because my kids need a father when I'm perhaps not there.'"
People Magazine got Elizabeth Edwards' side of the story – her reaction to the news that her husband had an affair with Rielle Hunter – by talking to her family and closest friends. They say her decision was gut-wrenching.
"There was anguish, excruciating anguish, for her in dealing with this," Elizabeth's best friend, Hargrave McElroy, told the magazine. "She couldn't say, 'well, maybe we'll work through this for years, or maybe we should separate for two years. [Cancer] forced her to choose whether to move forward."
"This was a huge turmoil in their household," Rogers said. "She found out her husband had been cheating on her, her husband of 30 years."
And while the country speculates about whether John Edwards is the father of Rielle Hunter's out-of-wedlock baby, Elizabeth Edwards confessed her personal belief to those closest to her.
A lot of people in the country are questioning whether he really told the truth," Rogers said. "We're told that his wife Elizabeth does believe John Edwards when he says he is not the father of this baby."
Elizabeth's pain has moved people.
"I feel really bad for her because of the circumstances," Novell Fitzgerland, Manhattan resident, said. "When anyone has cancer, you should not mess around."
"I think it's really unfortunate what she's going through, and I have sympathy for her for that," Atlanta resident Angela Williams said.
"As a mom, I understand that," Westchester's Claudia Bloom said. "It's a relationship, it's private, and we don't really know what goes on in a relationship."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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