Chris Christie’s Wife Mary Pat Christie: The Wall Street Wife Turned Campaign Fundraiser Extraordinaire

— -- Mary Pat Christie made the sacrifice of leaving her full time job on Wall Street as a bond trader to help her husband, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, campaign for president.

Mary Pat likes to joke that her “career was very good training for raising money for the campaign because I've been taking rejection for 30 years.”

In fact, as New Jersey’s first lady, she helped her state recover from Hurricane Sandy, raising about $40 million for a hurricane-relief nonprofit she started.

Raised in Paoli, Pennsylvania, Mary Pat grew up as one of ten children. The two met in college when Mary Pat was a freshman and Chris was a sophomore at the University of Delaware. They have been married for 29 years and have four children.

“I just thought he was funny and interesting,” Mary Pat said. “He had great stories. He still has great stories. And he was cute.”

The Christies’ involvement in politics can be traced back to college.

“He pulled me into student government. I really didn't have an interest in it, so he talked me into it," she said. "I got involved. He eventually ran for president and I ran as his secretary when he was a senior and he won. And then the following year I ran for president and I won.”

Now Mary Pat hopes her husband will win the Republican presidential nomination.

“This is a team sport, running for president,” she said. “There's nothing I'd rather do than help my husband.”

ABC News' Justine Quart, Angel Canales, Shushannah Walshe and Arthur Niemynski contributed to this report.