WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an "open marriage" or a divorce at the same time he was giving speeches around the country on family and religious values, his former wife, Marianne, said Thursday.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Marianne Gingrich said her former husband called her on May 10, 1999, as she was having dinner with her 84-year-old mother and said, "I want a divorce."
"Is there anybody else?" Marianne Gingrich recalled saying. "He was quiet. Within two seconds, when he didn't immediately answer, I knew."
The next day, Newt Gingrich gave a speech at a conference titled "The Demise of American Culture" to the Republican Women Leaders Forum in Erie, Pa., extolling the virtues of the founding fathers and criticizing liberal politicians for supporting tax increases, which he said hurt families and children.
In the speech, which was televised on C-SPAN, he spoke often of God, families and values.
Marianne Gingrich said she was surprised at the timing. "How could he ask me for a divorce on Monday and within 48 hours give a speech on family values and talk about how people treat people?" she said.
Marianne Gingrich also spoke about her marriage to ABC News's "Nightline" in an interview aired Thursday. Gingrich's daughters from his first marriage wrote a letter Wednesday to the network asking that the interview be withheld.
The accusations by Marianne Gingrich, made public before the interview aired, dominated campaign headlines yesterday and led Gingrich to chastise CNN moderator John King for broaching the allegations at the debate.
“I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” Gingrich said, drawing applause from the audience.
Earlier in the day in Beaufort, South Carolina, Gingrich said, “I’ve been very open about mistakes I have made. I’ve been very open about needing to go to God for forgiveness and to seek reconciliation.”
Later, on a South Carolina radio call-in show, he called the interview with his ex-wife “very sad” and said her statements are “just plain untrue.” He also said that his two daughters by his first wife and some close friends “are all willing to be witness to protest it.”
“People sometimes get very bitter,” he said on WVOC’s Keven Cohen show. “They sometimes hold grudges.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Marianne Gingrich said her former husband called her on May 10, 1999, as she was having dinner with her 84-year-old mother and said, "I want a divorce."
"Is there anybody else?" Marianne Gingrich recalled saying. "He was quiet. Within two seconds, when he didn't immediately answer, I knew."
The next day, Newt Gingrich gave a speech at a conference titled "The Demise of American Culture" to the Republican Women Leaders Forum in Erie, Pa., extolling the virtues of the founding fathers and criticizing liberal politicians for supporting tax increases, which he said hurt families and children.
In the speech, which was televised on C-SPAN, he spoke often of God, families and values.
Marianne Gingrich said she was surprised at the timing. "How could he ask me for a divorce on Monday and within 48 hours give a speech on family values and talk about how people treat people?" she said.
Marianne Gingrich also spoke about her marriage to ABC News's "Nightline" in an interview aired Thursday. Gingrich's daughters from his first marriage wrote a letter Wednesday to the network asking that the interview be withheld.
The accusations by Marianne Gingrich, made public before the interview aired, dominated campaign headlines yesterday and led Gingrich to chastise CNN moderator John King for broaching the allegations at the debate.
“I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” Gingrich said, drawing applause from the audience.
Earlier in the day in Beaufort, South Carolina, Gingrich said, “I’ve been very open about mistakes I have made. I’ve been very open about needing to go to God for forgiveness and to seek reconciliation.”
Later, on a South Carolina radio call-in show, he called the interview with his ex-wife “very sad” and said her statements are “just plain untrue.” He also said that his two daughters by his first wife and some close friends “are all willing to be witness to protest it.”
“People sometimes get very bitter,” he said on WVOC’s Keven Cohen show. “They sometimes hold grudges.
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