Rielle Hunter is sorry for the 2006 affair that brought down presidential-hopeful John Edwards and she apologized publicly Tuesday for her part in ending Edwards' marriage to his late wife Elizabeth.
Why now? It may have something to do with the release, also on Tuesday, of a revised edition of her 2012 book, "In Hindsight, What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me."
"I behaved badly, the 49-year-old opens a
Huffington Post blog post titled, "I, Rielle Hunter, Apologize.
"That may seem obvious to you but it's taken me a long time to admit that, even to myself," Hunter wrote. "For years I was so viciously attacked by the media and the world that I felt like a victim. I now realize that the attacks are actually beside the point. The point is: I behaved badly."
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A videographer during Edwards' 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hunter gave birth to the couple's daughter, Frances, in February of that year.
The amended version of Hunter's book, which includes the words "The Revised Edition," addresses the multiple mistakes she made during and after the affair. She said that she never how her actions could "hurt so many people."
"I hurt Elizabeth and her kids. I hurt her family. I hurt John's family. I hurt people that knew Elizabeth. I hurt people who didn't know Elizabeth but loved her from afar," Hunter wrote. "I hurt people who gave their hard earned dollars to a campaign -- a cause they believed in. I hurt people who are married and believe in marriage. Many of these people have let me know that I hurt them. Unfortunately, I was not thinking about anyone but myself. I was selfish. I fell in love with John Edwards and wanted to be with him and that desire trumped everything else."
Edwards, 60, was a rising star in the Democratic Party, as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the vice presidential nominee in 2004 – the running mate of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry – and a presidential candidate in 2008.
The National Enquirer first published rumors of the affair in 2007, but Edwards denied it for more than a year and the main stream media went along with it.
In June 2011, Edwards was accused of misusing campaign funds to cover up the affair. He was acquitted in July 2012 after a jury couldn't reach an agreement, and the Justice Department announced that he wouldn't be retried,
according to the Washington Post.
Hunter said her publisher came up with the idea to update the book with her regrets.
"I liked that idea," she wrote. "I thought it was innovative and interesting, but of course the actual execution of that idea turned out to be excruciating. Owning your past mistakes is no day at the beach but I do believe it is an important endeavor to undertake."
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"Instead of apologizing when I should have, I went on to hurt more people by writing a book," Hunter wrote. "I truly did not realize at that time how damaged I was and because of that, when I wrote my book I made more mistakes, ones I feel horrible about."
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Rielle Hunter Says She Has Split with John Edwards
Rielle Hunter Says She Didn't Wreck Edwards' Home
Edwards' Mistress Rielle Hunter Publishing Memoir
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