Jenny Sanford: "The last week has been very painful for me ... Please know that my sons and I are doing fine, given the circumstances. We are surrounded by friends and family, and we will make it through this. I believe it is how we respond to the challenges we face in life, and what we learn from them, that is most telling about who we truly are. There is no question that Mark’s behavior is inexcusable. Actions have consequences and he will be dealing with those consequences for a long while. Trust has been broken and will need to be rebuilt. Mark will need to earn back that trust, first and foremost with his family, and also with the people of South Carolina. The real issue now is one of forgiveness. I am willing to forgive Mark for his actions. We have been deeply disappointed in and even angry at Mark ... My forgiveness is essential for us both to move on with our lives, with peace, in whatever direction that may take us ... Forgiveness opens the door for Mark to begin to work privately, humbly and respectfully toward reconciliation with me. However, to achieve true reconciliation will take time, involve repentance, and will not be easy ..."
Source: "Statement From Jenny Sanford on Gov.‘s Actions and Forgiveness." WSPA.com. 7/2/2009.
Mark Sanford: "I owe it too much to my boys and to the last 20 years with Jenny to not try this larger walk of faith
Source: Associated Press. "SC Gov 'Crossed Lines' With Women." NYTimes.com. 6/30/2009.
Mark Sanford: "I'm quite certain that there were a handful of instances [with several other women] wherein I crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed as a married man but never crossed the ultimate line."
Source: Ken Millstone. "Sanford: Not An Affair, A 'Love Story'." CBSNews.com. 6/30/2009.
Mark Sanford: "This [relationship with Chapur] was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story. A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."
Source: Associated Press. "SC Gov 'Crossed Lines' With Women." NYTimes.com. 6/30/2009.
Mark Sanford: "I will be able to die knowing that I had met my soul mate [Chapur]. But it was one of those things, I knew the cost."
Source: Associated Press. "Quotes from SC gov's wide-ranging AP interview." Google.com. 6/30/2009.
Mark Sanford: "It was wonderful. Something that I've never been able to put my hands on was there. I remember there was an older couple sitting to our right, and I remember them watching us, in the way that we interacted. They could see a spark, or, I don't know what you'd call it, but there was something there."
Source: Ken Millstone. "Sanford: Not An Affair, A 'Love Story'." CBSNews.com. 6/30/2009.
Warren Culbertson, Sanfords' spiritual advisor: "For most Christians, at some point in your marriage, if you're married long enough, you do it because that's what we're called to do -- out of obedience instead of out of passion. And I think that's where Mark and Jenny are right now."
Source: Allen G. Breed. "Spiritual Adviser: 'Darkness' Gripped Sanford." HuffingtonPost.com. 6/29/2009.
Jenny Sanford: "... I didn't think he had it in him. It's hard to find out your husband is not who you thought he was." Source: David Saltonstall. "Jenny Sanford, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's wife, knew of affair with Maria Belen Chapur." NYDailyNews.com. 6/27/2009.
Jenny: "He was told in no uncertain terms not to see her," Jenny Sanford said in a strong, steady voice as she sat in her oceanfront living room Friday. "I was hoping he was on the Appalachian Trail. But I was not worried about his safety. I was hoping he was doing some real soul searching somewhere and devastated to find out it was Argentina. It's tragic."
Source: Bruce Smith. "S.C. First Lady Jenny Sanford Told Gov to Stop Affair." ABCNews.go.com. 6/27/2009.
David Saltonstall: "South Carolina's first lady discovered Gov. Mark Sanford's cheatin' ways in January after finding a love letter in his files - yet as recently as this month he begged his wife to let him go visit his Argentine hottie. "I [Jenny] said absolutely not. It's one thing to forgive adultery; it's another thing to condone it."
Source: David Saltonstall. "Jenny Sanford, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's wife, knew of affair with Maria Belen Chapur." NYDailyNews.com. 6/27/2009.
Jenny Sanford: “Am I O.K.? You know what? I have great faith and I have great friends and great family. We have a good Lord in this world, and I know I’m going to be fine. Not only will I survive, I’ll thrive.”
Source: Monica Davey. "In Political Storm, Governor’s Wife Is Hurt but Unbowed." NYTimes.com. 6/27/2009.
