John and Elizabeth Edwards Marriage Profile

News Updates:

5/13/2009: Elizabeth on the Larry King show, "He [John] has provided for us. He has -- you know, his fathering has been nearly perfect. His caring for me, with this really big painful exception, has been extraordinary, through Wade's death, through the cancer ... You have to say, is that -- is this piece, this piece which is so painful, so big, that it obscures all of those other things. And did I think about that? I did think about that. But in the end I decided it did not ... My forgiving him has allowed me to let go of a lot of the pain."
Source: "Elizabeth Edwards discusses tragedies, strengths." Cnn.com. 5/13/2009.

9/18/2008: Elizabeth in an interview about John's affair, "It's not a process that you get through, certainly in the time frame we're talking about. It's an ongoing process of finding your feet again, retelling your story to yourself ... When you mention trust, that's probably the most difficult hurdle ... Each day is different. You might think, 'I'm doing great today,' then tomorrow it's terrible. It's not like a straight-line graph."
Source: Patricia Anstett. "Elizabeth Edwards on her husband's acknowledgment of an affair". Detroit Free Press, 9/18/2008.

How Elizabeth and John Met:

John and Elizabeth met as law students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Glenn Bergenfield claims he introduced them to one another.

Their first date, dancing at the Holiday Inn on U.S. 15-501, ended with John kissing Elizabeth on the forehead. She says of that kiss, "It was just really sweet. I wasn't used to men being sweet."

Wedding Date:

July 30, 1977, in a small country church near Chapel Hill. Her floor length gown had cap sleeves. John wore a gray tux.

Their reception was at the Carolina Inn. They had a two-day honeymoon in Williamsburg, Virginia.

John and Elizabeth renewed their wedding vows on their 30th wedding anniversary.

Born:

John Reid Edwards: June 10, 1953, in Seneca, South Carolina. He grew up in the town of Robbins, North Carolina.

Mary Elizabeth Anania: July 3, 1949, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Previous Marriages:

None.

Residence:

Raleigh, North Carolina; beach home, Wilmington, N.C.; Georgetown, Washington, D.C. which was being sold.

In July, 2005, John and Elizabeth planned on a move to rural Orange County in North Carolina, near Chapel Hill, where they purchased 100 acres earlier in 2004 and were building a home.

Children:

• Lucius Wade: Born July 18, 1979. Died April 4, 1996 in a car accident. His jeep was swept off the highway by high winds, flipped, rolled several times, and ended upside down in flames.

Ms. Winstead: “I often say two wet noodles can’t hold each other up, but John and Elizabeth were really able to grieve very personally and yet together. While each of them struggled, I don’t think their relationship ever struggled.”
Source: Kate Zernike, NYT.com, 12/31/07.

• Catharine "Cate": Born 1982. Graduate of Princeton University.
• Emma Claire: Born 1998.
• Jack Atticus: Born 2000.

Elizabeth underwent fertility treatment to begin their second family.

Elizabeth's Battle With Breast Cancer:

On November 3, 2004, the day that her husband and John Kerry conceded the presidential race, Elizabeth Edwards revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She discovered a lump in her right breast the last week of the campaign. An Associated Press report stated that the cancer is the most common type of breast cancer, and that the the family "believes this is beatable."

At Georgetown University Hospital, Elizabeth Edwards underwent a 16-week period of chemotherapy.She lost much of her hair and wore a wig so her children wouldn't see her as being sick.

3/14/05: Surgery to remove lump from her breast.

3/22/07: Elizabeth's cancer returned.

3/25/07: Elizabeth: "I expect to live a long time. I expect us to have lots and lots of years together."
Source: Jennifer Steinhauer, NYTimes.com, "Facing a New Battle, Mrs. Edwards Set Campaign's Fate", 3/25/2007.

Miscellaneous Information:

In memory of their son Wade, the Edwards created an education foundation that offers college scholarships and established the Wade Edwards Learning Lab in Raleigh, North Carolina.

John likes to run daily and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1995 with son Wade.

Elizabeth admits to hiding her gray hair with dye and openly talks about her struggles with her weight.

Although Senator Edwards did not speak of their son Wade during campaign speeches, he always wore Wade's Outward Bound pin on his left suit lapel, over his heart.

Elizabeth kept her last name until the late 1990s.

Elizabeth is still wearing the $11 wedding ring that John gave her on their wedding day.

They celebrate their wedding anniversary every year by eating at Wendy's. It was how they spent their first anniversary.

Occupations:

Senator Edwards was a trial lawyer from 1977 - 1998. He was elected as a U.S. Senator in 1998; the Democratic party's 2004 nominee for Vice President. He left his office as Senator in January, 2005.

In February, 2005, John accepted a $40,000 teaching position at the law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. currently a candidate for President in 2008.

Elizabeth's professional career includes work for the North Carolina Attorney General's office, a Raleigh law firm, and as an adjunct instructor at UNC Law School teaching legal writing.She is currently involved in fund raising for the March of Dimes, sits on the UNC Board of Visitors, Books for Kids, and is active in the Wade Edwards foundation. She has also volunteered her time and talents with her children's youth soccer leagues, the Parent Teacher Associations at her children's schools, and with Goodwill Industries. She is the author of memoirs, Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength From Friends and Strangers and Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities.

Quotes About Their Marriage and Family:

John Edwards: "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake, and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public."
Source: Carla Marinucci, "Edwards admits to having an affair", SFGate.com, 8/9/08.

Elizabeth: "John was always there by my side. I cannot say enough about what a great husband he has been through all of this. John and I are so completely connected. There is nothing closer than where we are now."
Source: People.com 09/29/06.

John, about Elizabeth's diagnosis of breast cancer, 2004: “Elizabeth is as strong a person as I’ve ever known. Together, our family will beat this.”

Elizabeth, about their son Wade: "There are times when we think about Wade, a sort of, `Gosh, he would have enjoyed this.' Part of the reality of losing a child is that you never know when it's going to hit you."

Bonnie Weyher, longtime friend: "He (John) has always had a profound respect for her (Elizabeth's) opinions on things."

Glenn Bergenfield, longtime friend: "They speak in an intimate, private manner every day."

Elizabeth about the apple green bridesmaids dresses: "A very obnoxious color, made of a kind of fabric that comes out of the washing machine dry."
Source: BridesDecide.com