Rielle Hunter Still Loves 'Johnny' Edwards; Calls Him A 'Relentless' Lover
March 15 2010, Published 8:20 a.m. ET
In the April issue of GQ magazine, John Edwards' one-time mistress Rielle Hunter breaks her silence about her affair with the disgraced politician, saying she still loves the man she calls “Johnny” and described him as a relentless lover who bedded her the first night they met, RadarOnline.com can report.
She said they met in the bar of New York's Regency hotel in February 2006.
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"I did not know who he was," Hunter, 45, told the magazine. "The John Edwards I saw in 2004 on TV I believed to be a disconnected, two-dimensional geek kind of guy. And the man sitting across the room was not that at all."
Once she found out who Edwards was, she said she handed one of his underlings her business card. She said they finally met one another a few minutes later at the hotel bar, and the mutual attraction was evident.
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When Edwards, 56, saw Hunter "standing there, he lit up like a Christmas tree," she told the magazine. "And I thought his reaction when he saw me was just so cute -- I mean, he looked like a little kid at Christmas. And I just uttered to him, 'You're so hot.' And he said, 'Why, thank you!' And he almost jumped into my arms. Literally."
Hunter said Edwards then invited her to his room, admitting she “had never experienced anything like what was flowing between us."
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She said Edwards told her, "Come closer, I won't bite you," before she "eventually walked over to his side of the room," after which the couple had sex.
"He was pretty relentless," she said of Edwards' lovemaking skills. "And that's all I'm gonna say on that."
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And in a prediction that would come true, Hunter said Edwards told her: "Falling in love with you could really f*** up my plans for becoming president.”
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In January, John and Elizabeth Edwards announced they are legally separated, and when Hunter was asked if she thinks the two will end up together, she answered: "I have no idea. I do know that I will love him and that love is till death do us part, and probably beyond. We have a child (Frances) together, so at the very least we will be co-parents together."
Hunter also had pointed words for Elizabeth, who she said "emasculated" the politician, particularly by making him stay in the 2008 presidential race after she was diagnosed with cancer a year earlier.
"My surprise was that they stayed in the race," Hunter told the magazine. "I was shocked. I really viewed it as reckless.
"Most of his mistakes or errors in judgment were because of his fear of the wrath of Elizabeth,” she continued. “He’s allowed himself to be pushed into a lot of things that he wouldn’t normally do because of Elizabeth’s storyline. And the spin that she wants to put out there. He was emasculated. And you know, the wrath of Elizabeth is a mighty wrath.”
Hunter said Elizabeth learned of the ongoing tryst via a decoy cell phone she had given Edwards to contact her with. She said that Elizabeth Edwards called it, and she answered with a seductive 'Hey baby,' to which there was an immediate hang-up. Hunter said that led to Edwards eventually confessing to Elizabeth about their affair.
The new issue of GQ hits stands Tuesday.