John Edwards and Rielle Hunter: A Timeline
Edwards' Affair Through the Years
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Aug. 8, 2008 —
Nov. 3, 2004: John Edwards' wife, Elizabeth Edwards, is diagnosed with breast cancer. Her cancer later went into remission.
2006: Sen. John Edwards meets Rielle Hunter, a self-described filmmaker, at a bar in New York City.
Aug. 2, 2006: "Plane Truth," the first of a series of Web documentaries, or "Webisodes," chronicling Edwards' course on the campaign trail -- produced by newly hired Hunter and commissioned by Edwards' political action committee -- is taped.
Aug. 4, 2006: The second Webisode, "Golden Rule," is taped.
Late September to early October 2006: "Plight of Uganda" episode taped in Kitgum, Uganda.
Nov. 14, 2006: The fourth Webisode, "The Plug," is taped in New York City and airs on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
Dec. 28, 2006: Edwards announces that he will run for president in 2008.
Early 2007: The Webisodes are removed from Edwards' Web site.
March 22, 2007: Elizabeth Edwards announces during a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., that her cancer has returned and while it is treatable, it is not curable.
July 31, 2007: Elizabeth and John Edwards celebrate their 30th anniversary at their local Wendy's.
Oct. 10, 2007: The National Enquirer reports that Edwards had an affair with a former campaign staffer. The publication doesn't mention Hunter by name or its source of the information.
Oct. 11, 2007: Edwards denies having an affair to reporters in Summerton, S.C. "The story is false," said Edwards, according to The Associated Press. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous. ... I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years and as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known."
Dec. 19, 2007: The National Enquirer publishes a photograph of Hunter that shows her pregnant.
Feb. 27, 2008: Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, is born in Santa Barbara, Calif. The name of the child's father is left off the birth certificate.
July 21, 2008: The National Enquirer reports that Edwards visited Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
Aug. 8, 2008: Edwards admits to ABC News that he had an extramarital affair, but says he is not the father of Hunter's baby. He adds that he told his family about his relationship with Hunter in 2006 and made a point of telling ABC News' Bob Woodruff that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter.