Saturday January 21, 2012
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday January 21, 2012
Newt’s ex-wife, says he wanted ‘open marriage’
Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage” or a divorce at the same time he was giving speeches around the country on family and religious values, his former wife, Marianne, said Thursday.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Marianne Gingrich said her former husband called her on May 10, 1999, as she was having dinner with her 84-year-old mother and said, “I want a divorce.”
ABC News is planning to air an interview with the ex-wife of Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Thursday Night. The interview comes two days before the South Carolina primary. (Jan. 19) Video
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Wednesday said Newt Gingrich showed “arrogance” by suggesting he drop out of the race. (Jan. 18) More On This Story
“Is there anybody else?” Marianne Gingrich recalled saying. “He was quiet. Within two seconds, when he didn’t immediately answer, I knew.”
Two days later, Newt Gingrich gave a speech at a conference titled “The Demise of American Culture” sponsored by the Republican Women Leaders Forum in Erie, Pa. Gingrich extolled the virtues of the Founding Fathers and criticized liberal politicians for supporting tax increases, which he said hurt families and children. In the speech, which was televised on C-SPAN, he spoke often of God, families and values.
“When a liberal talks about values, will he or she actually like us to teach American history?” Gingrich told the women’s group. “Will they actually like young people to learn that George Washington was an ethical man? A man of standards, a man who earned the right to be father of this country?” (Source: Washington Post)