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Sanford admits more visits with 'soul mate'

By Tamara Lush and Evan Berland

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, already struggling to salvage his family and his political career after admission of a scandalous affair, added explosive details yesterday, including more visits with the mistress he calls his "soul mate" and additional women in his past.

The once-promising presidential prospect said he was committed to reconciling with his wife, but professed to the Associated Press his continued love for the Argentine woman at the center of the firestorm that gutted his political future.

In emotional interviews with the AP over two days, he said he would die "knowing that I had met my soul mate." He also said he had "crossed the lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage, but not as far as he did with his mistress.

Sanford insisted his relationship with Maria Belen Chapur, whom he met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay eight years ago, was more than just sex.

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," he said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

Even with the latest revelations, Sanford says he is fit to govern and has no plans to resign. He said he is trying to fall back in love with his wife, Jenny, even as he grapples with deep feelings for Chapur. "I owe it too much to my boys and to the last 20 years with Jenny to not try this larger walk of faith," he said.

Sanford, at times crying and unabashedly emotional, acknowledged that he had casual encounters with other women while he was married but before he met Chapur. They took place during trips outside the country to "blow off steam" with male friends.

"What I would say is that I've never had sex with another woman. Have I done stupid? I have. You know, you meet someone. You dance with them. You go to a place where you probably shouldn't have gone," Sanford said. But he said those encounters were nothing like his relationship with Chapur. "I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation," he said

Sanford told of his visits with Chapur, including an encounter that he described as a failed attempt at a farewell meeting in New York in the winter, chaperoned by a spiritual adviser and sanctioned by his wife soon after she found out about the affair. But he saw Chapur again, this time over Father's Day weekend and after his wife expressly told him not to, leaving the country without telling his staff and instead leading them to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Sanford said earlier he had had only four meetings with Chapur. But he told the AP he saw Chapur five times over the last year, including two romantic, multi-night stays with her in New York before they met in the city again with the intention of breaking up. He said he saw her two other times before that, including their first meeting.

Their relationship turned physical, he said, during a government trip to Brazil and Argentina in June 2008, and when he returned, the e-mails that had started years earlier began to reflect anguish. "Now I am frightened," he told AP, describing his state of mind at the time. . . . We gotta put the genie back in the bottle."

The revelations yesterday about Sanford's meetings with Chapur led the state attorney general to launch an investigation into his travels. Sanford delivered a personal check late yesterday for nearly $3,000 to reimburse the state for a 2008 state-funded trip to Argentina where he visited Chapur.

Sanford and his wife say they are trying to reconcile but have not been sharing the same house for several weeks. Jenny Sanford did not return messages seeking comment yesterday.

Buzz this story.

Comments

Posted by dahlia506 06:39 AM, 07/01/2009

This guy gets creepier every time he opens his mouth. Jenny, you're no charity case; run, don't walk out the door on this guy if you are concerned about your sons' character development and your own personal dignity.

Posted by Anne Arkey 07:49 AM, 07/01/2009

There is probably still more to governor's "story." If he is able to put the genie back in the bottle, he and Jenny need to drop politics and go on the talk show/lecture circuit. People would pay a pretty penny to see and hear about feat.

Posted by MamaPapax3 07:59 AM, 07/01/2009

What a jerk! He seems to enjoy sharing his sex life with the media and making his affairs, whether actual or affairs of the heart, become a melodrama. Enough already! Resign, divorce your wife, and go to Argentina - Good Riddance!

Posted by McCormick 08:42 AM, 07/01/2009

Who cares about this loser's sex life. The fact that as governor he thought he could simply disappear out of the country and no one would notice either says he's simply arrogant or just simple. Hasn't he hurt his wife and kids in public enough. Go crawl off in a corner, we don't care.

Posted by lawriegr 09:35 AM, 07/01/2009

If there was any doubt Jenny, there should be none now. How humiliating your husband telling everyone about his soul mate, and how he will work to fall back in love with you. Break free of him while you can. Clearly his heart is not with you and the boys. Save the boys the embarassment of dealing with their Daddy's character and focus on helping to build theirs while you still can.

Comment removed.

Posted by ardenoid 02:59 PM, 07/01/2009

He and Larry Mendte should become best friends.

Posted by Delaware Jim 03:17 PM, 07/01/2009

He should be Sarah Palin's running mate in 2012, on the Republican ticket of smugness and sanctimony.

Posted by Bud Fox 03:40 PM, 07/01/2009

Sorry Delaware Jim, I think Obama already has the market cornered on smugness.

Posted by cinbabes 08:34 AM, 07/02/2009

Good grief...God's gift to women! At least in his mind. He is an old desperate man trying to hang on to his youth. NOT on the taxpayers dollar he can't. IMPEACH HIM! And the wife should sue him in divorce court for a very tidy sum!

10 comments

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