Rielle Hunter GQ Interview: The Many Versions of the Rielle Truth

Saturday is Rielle Hunter’s 46th birthday and Hunter’s recent interview with GQ gave readers a chance to peer into the mistress of John Edwards’ many versions of the truth. We examine many of the statements Hunter made. Were they truthful? Let’s find out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RIELLE!
46 YEARS OLD; HOW MANY ‘TALL TALES’?

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RIELLE HUNTER’S GQ INTERVIEW:
A RIELLE-ITY CHECK

A reality check is probably something that the mother of John Edwards’ love child, Frances Quinn, would agree is a good thing.

John Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter, has come back into the public eye.

And boy, did the public ever get an eyeful.

Hunter did double duty this week in a GQ exclusive interview, Hello America, My Name is Rielle Hunter: readers not only got a bellyful of who Rielle Hunter says she is, but also got an eyeful of a pantless Hunter frolicking about on a bed. The pix showed Rielle and her fan-blown hair using her daughter’s toys, pearls and even little Frances Quinn as props–and little else.

The pearls were a nice touch for the former and current child of privilege.

The interview is a two-fer: a look at Hunter in her own words; and, another look at the pix that Hunter later told Barbara Walters “caused her to cry for two hours” after seeing them.

Gotta love a two-fer.

Previously, her nemesis, The National Enquirer, had reported that she had asked “Johnny” Edwards for almost $18,000 a month for child support.

From the look of the GQ pix, not much of that money has been spent on her clothing budget.

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ALSO at DBKP
*
Rielle Hunter GQ Interview: Rielle Hunter Photos, Video
* Over 180 articles on the John Edwards Scandal from December 2007 to present: The John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library of DBKP articles
* * John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Indictment, the MSM and the National Enquirer

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In honor of Rielle Hunter’s birthday–the mistress turns 46 on Saturday, March 20–we’ve decided to take a look at her statements in the GQ interview to see if we could find 46 “Rielle Tall Tales.” After all, “truthteller” Hunter is on the record with several statements–of which almost every sentence is a fairy tale.

How many versions of the Rielle truth will we find? Will we actually get to 46?

Let’s find out.

HAPPY 46th BIRTHDAY, RIELLE HUNTER

A RIELLE REALITY CHECK

1. I could have cashed out big. But that’s not what I’m about.

“Could have cashed out big, but that’s not what I’m about?!?”

Who could guess garnering somewhere between $10,000/month (what Edwards originally offered her) and almost $18,000/month (what Hunter requested) in child support isn’t cashing out big?

A lot of single mothers–with no other visible means of support and some rusty job skills (Hunter hasn’t worked outside of her “Johnny gig” for over four years)–would consider $120,000-205,000/year “cashing out.”

2. He’s very supportive of me talking now. He [Johnny] believes that it’s something that will help me be at peace with it. And he knows how important truth is to me. Factual truth as well as spiritual truth.

We all know how important the truth is to Rielle Hunter. Here’s Hunter’s statement released on October 11, 2007.

“The innuendoes and lies that have appeared on the internet and in the National Enquirer concerning John Edwards are not true, completely unfounded and ridiculous.

My video production company was hired by the Edwards camp on a 6 month contract, which we completed December 31, 2006.

When working for the Edwards camp, my conduct as well as the conduct of my entire team was completely professional.

This concocted story is just dirty politics and I want no part of it.”

The second sentence in the statement is arguably the truth–we’re not sure, because Newsweek’s Jonathan Darman reported in August 2008 that Hunter had told him that she was fired from the campaign by Elizabeth Edwards. That’s certainly one way of “completing” a contract.

The rest is a complete fabrication.

Unless Hunter classifies the making of a sex tape (which she herself in her court documents insists was made during September 2006) starring Edwards and herself as “completely professional” conduct.

3. I met him on a street corner. [laughs] A lot has been written that I met him inside the Regency [hotel in New York City], that I walked over to his table. That is all 100 percent fiction.

Let’s see, we have former Edwards’ aide Josh Brumberger’s account, which contradicts Hunter. As does Andrew Young’s account, which he says he learned from Hunter, which contradicts Rielle’s GQ version of events. Oh, and Jonathan Darman’s December 2006 account of their meeting, which he presumably got from Hunter herself when the two were flying about on the campaign plane in July 2006. And Darman again in 2008. That’s three (we’ll only count Darman as one) right off the bat–but wait, there’s more!

There’s Hunter herself, from this February 2007 interview with Extra:

“He was in a business meeting in New York and I was in the same place.”

Unless Edwards was holding his business meeting on the street corner–after all, Edwards did run as on a poverty platform–her latest account doesn’t jive.

That makes it four-to-one against Hunter’s GQ spin. So do we believe Hunter 2007′s account–or Hunter’s latest version? We have more sources who say “met in bar,” but we don’t need them here. Still, we’ll let the readers decide.

4. Did you know who he [Edwards] was? I did not know who he was.

Even Lisa DePaulo, the GQ interviewer finds this a bit hard to swallow. So she tries again.

Really?
I did not. 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.

Ohhhh. Rielle didn’t know the “real” John Edwards. I guess that’s what she was talking about.

5. Why do you think he loves you?
Um… How do I answer that? [long pause] I mean, I could give so many answers. I could give a spiritual answer, that I reflect back to him large parts of himself that were unconscious. Like, he’s a huge, huge humanitarian. He is very kindhearted and sweet. He’s very honest and truthful. And all of that was hidden.

The part about Edwards being honest and truthful? It was especially well-hidden. Buried, actually.

It remains hidden to this day–except whenever “Johnny” is forced by events beyond his control to admit to something else about the affair and cover-up.

One. Word. At. A. Time. Whenever. Someone. Nails. Him. On. Something.

The greatest thing about being a New Age solipsist is that there’s so many neat ways to dress up “denial.” It’s almost like a game.

Playing hide-and-seek with the truth.

6. He [Edwards] is integrated. He is living a life of truth.

Translation, courtesy of the National Enquirer. Integrated = Terrified (at being indicted by a grand jury). Part of Edwards’ “life of truth” was on display in January, when he admitted almost two years after Frances Quinn was born, that she was his daughter.

After repeatedly denying that he was her father.

In public.

On national TV.

Maybe Hunter is referring to his life of truth as having begun from that point 50 days ago? Or maybe she knows that Edwards is going to confess everything to the grand jury and set himself free with the truth. Maybe she’s referring to his “upcoming” life of truth? Readers will have to decide this one.

7. So I called him about a half hour later. And I got a voice mail in the room, so I hung up. Did not leave a message. Because I did not know what was appropriate. I knew he was married, and I didn’t know if his wife was with him, you know; I didn’t know what was appropriate. And this was not—there was no sexual intention here at all.

She didn’t know what was appropriate? Even though Hunter found Edwards “hot,” she had no sexual intentions? So, if either Hunter or Edwards had been packing some Emily Post, a lot of heartache for a lot of various family members–as well as Edwards himself–might have been avoided?

Even though this is another answer that DiPaulo can’t believe, it might be best to rest our case here.

8. So I hung up. And about ten minutes later, my cell phone rang. And I looked down, and I said to my friends, “What is this number?” One of my friends said, “That’s the Regency.” And I said, “He’s calling me back? I didn’t even leave a message. How is he calling me back?” And he, you know, star-69′ed or whatever the caller ID was. And he left me this message, “Hi. Call me. I really want to hear what you have to say.”

Martin Lewis, Huffington Post [John Edwards & Rielle Hunter: The First Big Lie], is ahead of the curve on this one. Let’s turn it over to him.

I just telephoned the Regency Hotel — where according to Rielle Hunter and multiple other accounts — John Edwards was staying the night they met and where she telephoned him.

I spoke to a very nice lady on the Front Desk. Juliet Bird. I inquired about the telephone facilities in the guest rooms. “Are the telephones at the Regency Hotel equipped with “caller ID” or “star-69″ facility?”

She told me that she had never been asked that particular question before and would need to check with a supervisor familiar with the hotel’s telephone system.

She checked. The answer was — as I suspected — no. Neither of those facilities, or anything like them, were available on the telephones in their guest rooms.

It’s easy to get that ‘star-69 thing’ confused.

Andrew Young’s version is more simplistic–but not nearly as fraught with cat-and-mouse romanticism.

Young says that Edwards gave Hunter the key card to his hotel room.

9. And I said to my friends, “I’m going over there [to Edwards' hotel room].” And it was funny, because they were like, “You cannot sleep with him! You cannot sleep with him, because you can help him!” And I said, “I am not going to sleep with him.”

Two out of three people in Hunter’s group almost instantly knew the real truth of what was about to transpire. Hint for those slow on the uptake: Hunter was the odd girl out.

But she was right about the part of it being “funny.”

10. I used to make a joke that I could have helped save the world, but I had to sleep with him. You know? It was kind of like that.

Actually, Edwards’ mistress is telling the truth here–in a roundabout way. After all, if she hadn’t slept with him, he might have been president. So maybe she did save the world as well as sleep with him.

What girl can resist a two-fer?

11. On whether it bothered Hunter that Johnny was married: Oh yes. Before I met Johnny, I had a lot of judgment about infidelity. Now I have a much deeper and greater understanding and acceptance of people’s processes.

Comedy gold–whether it’s true or not.

12. What did your card say? It said rielle hunter. being is free.

Hunter is telling the truth here. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. And it’s a good excuse to use the graphic.

13. He doesn’t lie to me.

Rielle says this three times–just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Two good rules of thumb for readers who are tempted to engage in an extramarital affair. 1-Don’t believe everything a woman says in the throes of passion. 2-Don’t believe everything a married man or woman says to someone who isn’t their spouse while they’re in bed.

Only mentioned because we know it can help someone.

14. Does he miss the attention? You’d have to ask him, but he gets a lot of attention wherever he goes. It’s weird, but he’s a bigger celebrity now than he ever was. People pay attention to scandal more than they pay attention to politics.

The Tiger Woods school of political science.

Technically, this is the truth, maybe because she threw in “it’s weird.” Also, because you know that John Edwards read this and his head exploded. So the humor factor’s at play here.

15. On where she was when John Edwards found out that Elizabeth’s cancer had returned: I was in New Jersey. [laughs] Andrew Young says that he was planning a tryst for my birthday. In frickin’ Iowa. One hundred percent fiction. I was in Jersey, no plans for a birthday tryst at all, and Johnny… I believe he was in Iowa, and he left to go back, for Elizabeth. And, whether she became upset when Edwards couldn’t spend her birthday with her: Oh yeah, that’s 100 percent fiction. No. I was completely supportive.

The problem with this statement is that Young has a plethora of voice mails and they back up his claim that Rielle, in spite of her assurances elsewhere in this interview, wasn’t always the most understanding of mistresses when it came to Johnny’s wife. Besides, one can almost see Hunter’s understanding for Elizabeth Edwards drip off of every page of this interview.

You see it all makes sense. Johnny and Rielle had “trysts” on her birthday in 2006, 2008, 2009 and probably in 2010. But they didn’t have one planned for 2007. Maybe it was “frickin’ Iowa.”

No, wait. They did have trysts in Iowa.

Must have been something else.

[Ooops! Wrong sex scandal!]

16. On her getting pregnant: I was shocked. I was 43 years old, you know, and pregnant? And I had never been pregnant in my life. Didn’t think I could get pregnant. At least that’s what she told Edwards. And his reaction when she told him? He was always very gracious about it.

Andrew Young relates what Edwards told him–and “gracious” is not the word that comes to mind. For a more realistic version of Edwards’ reaction when he found out Hunter was pregnant, readers may feel free to refer to the Tiger Woods picture above.

Knew that would come in handy.

17. If Johnny was working at a gas station, I would still be in love with him.

Let’s refer to a piece by Sarah Miller, a writer who met Hunter at a party in 2003. Miller, in 2008, describe part of what was said.

She [Hunter] kept staring at me, that weird glaze still over her face. “Oh, no,” she said. “You have really strong energy, and I can feel it in there, and it’s telling me what I want to be.”

“And what is that?” I asked, knowing that it was probably too much to hope that what she wanted to be was the person who would get me another drink and then go away.

“I am going to be famous,” Rielle said. “Rich and famous. I am going to meet a rich, powerful man.”

I was by now leaning against the kitchen cabinetry, and the fact that it was holding me up made me almost certain that Harrison Ford’s virility had gone into its construction. “Wow,” I said. “How are you going to do that?”

Rielle slid a toe out from under the tip of her flared yoga pants and poked me with it, playfully. “I’m going to manifest it,” she said.

Maybe Miller misheard Hunter. Maybe Rielle really said, “I’m going to meet a guy who works in a gas station.”

Maybe.

18. I’m not conventional, I don’t fit into a box. But I am grounded. Don’t mistake… I am very grounded. People also say I’m crazy. And there’s no crazy about me. At all. It’s so fascinating to me, the projection. Like, the people that have written about me? They see me in a certain way based on their own stuff. Perception is projection.

None of the published accounts of people describing Hunter before the Scandal ever use the word “grounded.” Doesn’t mean that they never thought it. They just didn’t think of it strongly enough to ever describe her in that way. Those who have written about Hunter have used a variety of other words, however.

The latest is Ann Louise Bardach, who once rented some West Hollywood digs to Hunter. Her description?

“Odd duck.”

But, Google “Rielle Hunter,” read what’s out there and come to your own conclusion.

Reminder: don’t project!

Like most of those other writers apparently did.

19. Does she flirt outlandishly with other men? Men misread this all the time. If you’re open and look someone in the eye, they think you’re flirting with them! Because, Oh, my God, somebody’s listening to me. So a lot of men think that I’m coming on to them if I’m actually just listening to them.

That’s what is it’s called: listening! And if you’re listening, you can’t be projecting. Starting to get into the swing of this now.

20. About whether she slept with Johnny in the Edwards’ bed in their Chapel Hill home, as per Andrew Young’s account: Andrew drove me back to my hotel, the Marriott in Meadowmont [in Chapel Hill]. I’ll say this about Andrew’s book: If his grand-jury testimony matches his book, I would suspect that they will be looking at him for many, many counts of perjury.

While it may be true that Young doesn’t always tell the truth, this article is not about him. Hunter was in Chapel Hill many times during the affair: sometimes when Elizabeth was home, others when she was not. She doesn’t say that she never slept in the Edwards’ bed–just not that time.

If she’s telling the truth.

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20 items about Rielle Hunter’s versions of the “truth.” We didn’t get to 46. But we didn’t do the entire article; we’re tired and it’s late. As always, we’ll let readers decide how she did and assign their own score.

Remember: one person’s truth is another’s perception.

Or projection.

But here’s a bonus for the readers who’ve stuck with this to the very end.

Who’s idea was it for Andrew Young to take a bullet for team–as we described it back in December 2007–and claim paternity for Edwards’ love child? Young says it was Edwards. Hunter says it was Young. Who’s version of the truth do readers believe?

Maybe it will help to look at a few things Rielle Hunter said in December 2007?

When Hunter was confronted on December 12, 2007 by Enquirer reporters, after she’d been moved to North Carolina, here’s what she said then:

And when asked for a comment about her relationship with Edwards by an ENQUIRER reporter, Rielle responded: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Asked why she was living in Young’s gated community, she answered: “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

When asked who fathered her baby, she answered: “I have no idea who you’re talking about or what you’re talking about.”

She even denied that she was Rielle Hunter!

Four questions, four not-so-truthful answers. Check.

Hunter’s attorney–provided by Edwards’ campaign finance chairman, Fred Baron–then released Hunter’s statement:

“The fact that I am expecting a child is my personal and private business. This has no relationship to nor does it involve John Edwards in any way. Andrew Young is the father of my unborn child.”

Three sentences, two fibs. Check.

Another two-fer!

So, who’s telling the truth about who told Young to jump on the grenade?

The smart money is on Andrew Young–this time.

But, as has been proven with practically everything Rielle Hunter says about her involvement with John Edwards: past performance is no indication of future results.

Happy 46th Birthday, Rielle.

by Mondo Frazier
images:
* DBKP file
* GQ
* New York Post
* National Enquirer

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