Newt Gingrich' ex-wife claims he wanted an open marriage

[JustAskJulie]

Swingers? Newt Wanted Open Marriage, Says Ex | New York Daily News

Sounds more like he wanted permission to cheat, but semantics.

[funcoupledayton]

From what I understand he was already cheating when he asked. Plus, I don't think he wanted to swing with his wife, he just wanted to be able to have affairs himself.

[sunbuckus]

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

Swingers? Newt Wanted Open Marriage, Says Ex | New York Daily News

Sounds more like he wanted permission to cheat, but semantics.

I was wondering if this would be discussed here!

I agree with you, he wanted permission to cheat. He got caught with his hand in two cookie jars.

[Alura]

Originally Posted by sunbuckus

I was wondering if this would be discussed here!

Yep! I was surprised to see it here... but Julie is the Emperess.

I agree with you, he wanted permission to cheat. He got caught with his hand in two cookie jars.

A comedian on Jon Stewart's show (the English guy) referred to Newt (inaccurately) as a "swinger" last evening.

Alura

[Alura]

Originally Posted by funcoupledayton

From what I understand he was already cheating when he asked. Plus, I don't think he wanted to swing with his wife, he just wanted to be able to have affairs himself.

My understanding is that he was caught cheating by Wife #2. Only then did he ask. It was unclear if he offered her the same priviledge, but she said "NO!" to an open marriage, according to her interview.

Alura

[km34]

I wondered if he was asking for more of an entirely open marriage - either of them being able to form sexual or romantic bonds with others. She says that his issue was that she wanted him "all to herself" sounding to me like he would have been willing to stay in the marriage if she had agreed to open it up.

Granted, I doubt he would have been okay with the equality that is required in an open relationship AND since he was already cheating it was definitely not the way to approach it.

Not trying to excuse the behavior, just trying to offer a different perspective.

[Alura]

From the article: The former House speaker left his first wife, Jackie, as she underwent cancer treatment.

When Laura was about to have her mastectomy, she told me that a large percentage of women who have the procedure are divorced soon after.

Tsk, tsk! How sad!

Alura

[VegasLee]

He left the one he asked to marry the one he was cheating with.

It has always surprised me that the "Mistress" would marry the one that was cheating. If they will cheat with them, they will cheat on them.

The part I find interesting in the political tales is that they always come out ten years later. Why has #2 kept her mouth shut this long?

In the world of politics we never know what is real and what is show.

[lustylearning]

Not a swinger, but "sounds like" a swinger wannabe. I don't know if this is good press for consensual non-monogamy.

[Fundamental Law]

Please. The only thing this episode reveals is the typical 'holier-than-thou,family values' lines are simply political hot air. He cheated. He got caught. He got a divorce. There was neither trust nor respect nor mutual consent involved in this extra-marital dalliance.

[sunbuckus]

Originally Posted by Fundamental Law

Please. The only thing this episode reveals is the typical 'holier-than-thou,family values' lines are simply political hot air. He cheated. He got caught. He got a divorce. There was neither trust nor respect nor mutual consent involved in this extra-marital dalliance.

I agree. He doesn't sound like a swinger wannabe to me. He just regrets that he got caught and tried to back pedal into "asking" for an open marriage.

[cplnuswing]

I've been aggravated about how this whole thing has played out, it's giving us swingers a bad name.

Granted, wife #2 herself introduced the words "open marriage" into the story since their situation evidently meets her definition of the phrase, and in all of the commentary and reporting I have seen, nobody has corrected that. In fact, what he really wanted was a get out of jail free card in the hope of avoiding any repercussions once he got caught, and then had the nerve to ask to have his cake and eat it too. For most I think, an open marriage isn't to be applied retroactively even if the other spouse agrees to let the affair continue for whatever reason. Until she said ok and granted him his hall pass, it was cheating. It went on for years, there was obviously a romantic/emotional aspect to it, and it was conducted dishonestly - not an open marriage, not swinging, but rather cheating, plain and simple, which is what it should be called.

Sadly though, using the terms open marriage / swinging, even incorrectly, will always draw much more ire (and interest) from the general public than your basic lying and cheating affair. Never have understood the logic in that

On the bright side, at least she didn't say he was a swinger. If that was the case, I would have had to publicly burn my swingers membership card in protest.

[PB&J]

I just have great difficulty in understanding why ANY of these women would have wanted to have sex with him in the first place. EWWWWWW

[lovinher]

Originally Posted by Fundamental Law

Please. The only thing this episode reveals is the typical 'holier-than-thou,family values' lines are simply political hot air. He cheated. He got caught. He got a divorce. There was neither trust nor respect nor mutual consent involved in this extra-marital dalliance.

It was only a matter of time.

[cplnuswing]

Moderator Note - probably been some toes across the line already. Let's be careful on the no politics rule here, and limit the discussion to the situation as if it involved any other well known public figure, not a political one. Thanks!