Rielle Hunter on Oprah

Rielle Hunter: I'm Not a Homewrecker — Well Said or Say What?

April 29, 2010

We typically present quotes here that either make us think "say what?" when they're outrageous, or "well said" when they speak the truth. But we just came across one that stumps us. Speaking on Oprah today, John Edwards's infamous mistress Rielle Hunter said she's not a homewrecker. Here's the quote:

"It’s not my experience that a third party can wreck a home. A home is wrecked before a third party comes into the picture."

What do you make of this?

25 Comments

3 years

She has not denied KNOWING he was married. When you KNOW it makes you a homewrecker...

GregS 3 years

I once dated a woman who was several times "the other woman". She told me she preferred it that way. She would have all the benefits of marriage without, in her words, "having to do his laundry." They'd go out to dinner, have a good time, and he'd leave.

ShaynaLeah 3 years

I fail to see the appeal of being with a man who would cheat on his wife with you. If he cheated on her, what makes you think he won't cheat with you? That said, while John Edwards is definitely culpable - no one makes anyone cheat - she certainly isn't without shame or blame.

MissSushi 3 years

I think people who knowingly indulge in relationships with married or attached people are pretty disgusting, just as i feel people who cheat are disgusting. Do you not respect yourself at all? i desperately wish we would STOP giving people like this media attention.

Sunshine Makes Me Happy 3 years

Even if the home was already wrecked, by the third party entering, there is close to no chance of mending the broken! Stop making excuses!

mix tape 3 years

This makes me so angry. I hate HATE women like her. Yeah things were broken before you arrived, but you sure as hell didn't fix anything. What a nice attempt at a cop out, bitch.

inlove23 3 years

I'm not saying that she is okay to go in there and make things worse, but if a husband has cheated than obviously there already were relationship problems.

jenni5 3 years

I don't know if I agree with this statement. Maybe things weren't perfect in their marriage but could have been worked out? At the same time I can't blame her, he is a grown man that should know how to control himself. But she should also know better than to have an affair with a married man with a family....she is still disgusting too.

stephley 3 years

If she's not the homewrecker, she's a looter.

Lyv 3 years

Not untrue... the homewrecker is the one who cheated, not the person who's never made any commitment to the relationship in question. Sure, willingly helping someone cheat is really, SO not something to be proud of - though I try not to judge because the sad truth is... any one of us could end up in her position at some point. Except for, you know, the pathetic media-whoring after you get caught... Have some shame!

genesisrocks 3 years

I agree with the statement but that doesn't justify her actions

franceslopez 3 years

I don't really care about how John Edward's marriage goes, but selfishly, I feel really exasperated with this woman. John Edwards was actually a viable presidential contender with genuinely good ideas and his career is pretty much over. I'm just crabby over being deprived of a good candidate.

stellaRuby 3 years

His fault. He cheated on HIS wife. HIS FAULT. She is a skeez ball.

GlowingMoon 3 years

I find Rielle so unseemly. All her public antics (the photo shoot, interview, etc) are in poor form and poor taste. In my opinion, as far as being the other woman, she should take a page from Camilla Parker Bowles' handbook, and practice some discretion. BTW, as some of you may know, Prince Charles ended up marrying Camilla, so she's no longer the other woman, but his wife. To clarify, I do not support extramarital affairs. I'm just saying there's a more seemly (read: delicate) way to go about it.

hypnoticmix 3 years

I'm about to watch the whole interview but from the teaser snips I've seen she seems to give short and reactive answers which doesn't seem very genuine to me.

reesiecup 3 years

This lady has some nerve and absolutely no shame or class. I don't think she should share all the blame in the cluster-eff that is John Edwards shambled marriage, but this woman need not reopen wounds or publicly disgrace the family further. Where is her integrity? What message is she sending to her child and the rest of the nation? "It is not my experience"? How much practice has she had in the affair department? I suppose "third party" sounds better than the alternative names I can come up with for her...

kaylei h 3 years

I thin that, alongside many of the other commenters on here, that the only response appropriate here is: It takes TWO to tango.

kurniakasih 3 years

I agree with everyone here. I don't want to see anyone's mistresses talk about their affairs on tv. Is it really that necessary? Move on move on.

bryseana 3 years

I don't agree with women pursuing married men, but what she's saying isn't totally off base. He could have said "no", but chose to have an affair with her. He's just as responsible.

stephley 3 years

Why did Oprah even talk to her? Was there honestly any possibility that we'd learn anything worth knowing . I wish Oprah and everyone else would stop running to put these women on camera.

spacekatgal 3 years

Exactly Chloe Bella. That's precisely how I feel.

chloe bella 3 years

I agree that generally, the majority of the blame should go on the cheating spouse, since they're the one who made the vow to the person they cheated on. I think it's fair to say that John Edwards wrecked the home, not her, because I think he would have cheated on his wife regardless of whether it was with her. Who knows how many other mistresses he has out there. But even if she's not totally to blame, her actions are still immoral, and she should feel guilty for what she did. Plus, she's just plain TRASHY! And I agree tlsgirl, the mistresses of Tiger Woods and Jesse James are pretty much the scum of the earth.

tlsgirl 3 years

It was already bent for sure, and maybe even completely broken, but that doesn't excuse her actions, especially those that she's taken since the affair was made public. I don't understand why some women feel the need to not only sleep with men that are clearly married, but to rub it in afterward (See: mistresses of both Tiger Woods and Jesse James for further examples).

3 years

even if we were to say agree with the logic - the home was already wrecked. so what? that makes it ok to go in and make things worse??

spacekatgal 3 years

That's a nice little bit of logic that abrogates her of the responsibility of publicly destroying John Edward's marriage.