Wife leaves John Edwards after lovechild admission

Friends of Elizabeth Edwards have confirmed that she has finally separated from her husband of 32 years, John Edwards, the former Democratic presidential candidate who admitted last week to fathering a child by his mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Elizabeth, who suffers from incurable cancer, stood by her husband right through the National Enquirer allegations that Edwards was cheating on her. And when he admitted to the affair - but not to the child - she stayed with him too, though she talked about the "slow process" of rebuilding trust in him.

But last week Andrew Young, a former political aide to Edwards, published a book in which he claimed he had been asked to help cover up Edwards's lies by saying that he, not Edwards, was the father of Rielle Hunter's baby girl.

In a TV interview to promote The Politician, Young said Edwards asked him to find a doctor who might fake a paternity test.

Just before the book was published, Edwards admitted last week to being the father of the child. This appears to have been the final straw for the 60-year-old Elizabeth.

A friend, Andrea Purse, confirmed yesterday that Elizabeth had left her husband. Elizabeth's sister, Nancy Anania, added: "She's doing as well as you could expect."

The couple married in 1977 after falling in love at law school. Neither was from a wealthy background - he bought her a $11 ring and they celebrated their first wedding anniversary at a Wendy's hamburger joint - but he went on to make millions as a successful 'personal injury' lawyer. They had four children.

Andrew Young's The Politician isn't the only book to have taken its toll on the Edwards household. As The First Post reported last week, Elizabeth's once saintly image as the dying wife, betrayed by her vain husband, took a serious dent with the recent publication of Game Change by reporters John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.

The authors describe Elizabeth as "abusive, intrusive, paranoid, condescending, a crazy woman," who was "prone to irrational outbursts". She often berated her husband as an ignorant "redneck" who never read a book.

She's rid of him now. ·