Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich's Second Wife Dishes Hard To Esquire: His Money Woes, His Philandering, His Meltdown

Megan Carpentier | August 11, 2010, 8:42AM

In 1999, after refusing to take the seat he won in the 1998 elections, Newt Gingrich left his second wife, Marianne, for a much-younger staffer with whom he'd been having an almost-ignored affair. As in his first marriage, he did so shortly after Marianne was diagnosed with a serious illness; as in his first divorce, he fought Marianne tooth and nail over any financial settlement. And then he had the Atlanta archdiocese inform Marianne that their marriage was invalid in the eyes of his fiancée's faith; 9 years later, he completed his conversion to Catholicism.

Given his popularity among Republicans, one would think there is little left to say about Gingrich's personal foibles that could hurt his political career. But sandwiched in between snippets from his campaign to return to popularity in yesterday's Esquire profile are tidbits from the still-supportive Marianne that portray Gingrich in a far-from-pleasant light -- and hints that his personal foibles took quite a toll on his political fortunes behind the scenes.

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Topics: Esquire, Marianne Gingrich, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Sex, Vanity Fair