State of their unions: Candidates' marriages

John McCain and Cindy Hensley McCain
Married Since: 1980
Family Album: John has a daughter and two sons from his first marriage. John and Cindy have two daughters and two sons together

He was a war hero, a former prisoner in North Vietnam; she was the daughter of a wealthy beer distributor and almost 20 years his junior. They met in 1979 at a reception in Honolulu. “We both lied about our ages,” Cindy told a reporter. “I made myself older and he made himself younger.” Before they could marry, he had to divorce his first wife (although they still remain on good terms).

Cindy has always supported her husband’s political ambitions; her father reportedly helped bankroll John’s first congressional race in 1982. But his first presidential campaign, in 1999, meant revisiting hard times in her life—particularly her addiction to the painkillers Percocet and Vicodin, which she started taking in 1989 after experiencing back pain. She hid her addiction, stealing the drugs from a charity she’d established to provide medical aid to developing countries. Her parents finally confronted her, and she quit “cold turkey” in 1992. No charges were filed, but she repaid the charity as part of a deal with prosecutors. These issues don’t seem to have affected most voters’ views of her—or him. In fact, Cindy was more often considered a political asset.

Cindy has made medical relief to impoverished countries a major focus of her energy. Her frequent missions produced an unexpected benefit. In 1991, on a visit to Bangladesh, she visited an orphanage where more than a hundred infants were living in poor conditions. At the request of the nuns who ran the orphanage, she brought home one of them, a 10-week-old girl who was severely disfigured by a cleft palate and needed medical care. The McCains gave her that care and eventually adopted her. Now 15, Bridget McCain is currently a high school student in Arizona.

If she became First Lady, Cindy has said that she would make adoption, foster care and health care her issues. She also hopes she could be a role model for people who want to fight drug addiction. “I’m in recovery,” she told Newsweek during the last campaign. “If I can do it, then maybe they can too.” As First Lady, she would be part Eleanor Roosevelt and part Betty Ford.

John Edwards and Elizabeth Anania Edwards
Married Since: 1977
Family Album: Two sons (one died in 1996) and two daughters

On the surface, Elizabeth Edwards would seem to be the exact opposite of the ideal political spouse. Hardly meek, she’s a smart and independent attorney who doesn’t spend too much time worrying about her appearance, and talks openly about her struggles with weight loss. Yet she’s often described as her husband’s “secret weapon.” “She’s presumably very bright, very competent, and she knows how to keep from upstaging him,” says Pittman. In the 2004 election, “Elizabeth was very much there as someone who had suffered and who had stood by her guy,” says Real. “It was kind of like the clean version of Hillary.” Women of all backgrounds seemed to identify with her, and her reputation soared as Teresa Heinz Kerry’s popularity sank.

During her 2006 book tour for Saving Graces, Elizabeth was embraced as a celebrity—a remarkable accomplishment for the spouse of a defeated vice presidential candidate. She’s appealing on her own and as a partner in what seems to be an exceptionally loving marriage. Surviving hard times—especially the death of their oldest son, Wade, in a car accident—appears to have strengthened the couple’s bond. When they talk about each other, even a casual viewer senses genuine passion. “You feel about them that this isn’t just phony baloney,” says Real.

In his run for the White House, John Edwards appears to be taking the slow and steady route, letting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight it out at the top of the polls. His wife seems in tune with that more reflective approach. Not long after the diagnosis, Elizabeth talked to a People reporter about how her worldview had changed. “There is an odd place after losing a child, where you think somehow your life is worthless,” she said. The diagnosis “is a reminder that this is the life you’ve got and you’re not getting another one. Whatever has happened, you have to take this life and treasure and protect it.” When she and her husband announced in March that they would continue campaigning even though her cancer has returned, she was the role model for grace under pressure, and many cancer survivors have applauded her decision. “We’re going to look for the silver lining,” she said. “It’s who we are as people.”

Rudy Giuliani and Judith Stish Nathan Giuliani
Married Since: 2003
Family Album: Giuliani has a son and a daughter from his second marriage. Nathan has a daughter from her second marriage.

The tabloid ink expended on this union rivals headlines about the Clintons. Years before their divorce scandal, Rudy Giuliani’s second marriage to Donna Hanover was major gossip fodder in New York. There were persistent rumors—vehemently denied—that he was having an affair with his attractive female communications director, Christyne Lategano. The gossip took a toll. In 1997, Hanover refused to answer when asked if she had cast her vote for Rudy as mayor. She later hosted many women’s networking dinners at Gracie Mansion, New York’s mayoral home, without mentioning her husband. After their dueling press conferences, the Mansion became a battleground. His lawyer alleged that while Rudy was ill with the side effects of his chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, she relegated him to a small bedroom and kept the master suite. He also accused her of waking him up early in the morning by exercising in the room over his head. A year later, Rudy moved out and stayed with friends. She, in turn, accused him of “open and notorious adultery.” After the battle ended in 2002 with a $6.8 million settlement for Hanover, her lawyer called it a “spectacular win,” adding that the former mayor has admitted “cruel and inhuman treatment” based on his open relationship with the twice-married Judith Nathan.

None of this is, of course, mentioned on his campaign website. In fact, the only family cited is the third Mrs. Giuliani, described as “a registered nurse with an extensive medical and scientific background.” His son, Andrew, 21, recently told reporters that he is estranged from his father because of the divorce and remarriage.

The couple is openly affectionate. In an interview in Harper’s Bazaar, Judith described Rudy as the “Energizer Bunny with no rechargeable batteries.” Not bad for a 63-year-old cancer survivor. “I’ve always liked strong, macho men and Rudy—I’m not saying this because he’s my husband—is one of the smartest people on the planet,” she said. She also described him as surprisingly romantic. “We love watching Sleepless in Seattle,” she said. “Can you imagine my big testosterone-factor husband doing that?”

Will such lovey-dovey images counteract the bad divorce memories? Rudy’s already in trouble with the GOP’s evangelical base for his support of abortion rights. Recently, one Southern Baptist leader said Rudy’s messy personal life added to the doubts. “This is divorce on steroids,” said Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention. “To publicly humiliate your wife in that way, and your children? That’s rough. I think that’s going to be an awfully hard sell, even if he weren’t pro-choice and pro-gun control.” His heroic leadership during 9/11 won’t be enough to erase the scandal. “He’s great at running frantically through ruins, acting like he’s in charge of something,” says Pittman. “But he couldn’t go home, since his wife had kicked him out because he was having an affair with somebody else.”

Judith is still a novice on the campaign trail, but her style appears to be Mamie times 10. She’s feminine, flirty, and completely faithful to Rudy. No word on her fudge recipe—yet.

Mitt Romney and Ann Davies Romney
Married Since: 1969
Family Album: Five sons, 10 grandchildren

As Mitt tells it, the Romney marriage is a real love story. “We met in elementary school,” he said in a 2006 speech that is posted on his campaign website. “I was a Cub Scout, and she was riding a horse bareback over some railroad tracks. What do Cub Scouts do when they see a little girl on a horse? We picked up stones and threw them.” Years later, in 1965, he refined his style and asked her out to see The Sound of Music, which had recently opened. After that, Romney said, “I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with Ann.” He proposed at the senior prom, and she accepted. They were married in 1969, on the fourth anniversary of that first date. In the speech, he lists the reasons he loves her. First is her honesty. “There’s no shading, there’s no guile,” he says, adding that “she has an incomprehensible capacity to love, and because she’s honest, people recognize that she cares for them.” And after all these years, “her love for me, of course, is the greatest source of joy I could possibly have.”

Ann was raised Episcopalian, but converted to Mormonism after meeting Mitt, who comes from a prominent Mormon family. His faith is a problem for evangelicals, who are also mistrustful of his flip-flops. He supported abortion rights and gay rights in his 1994 Senate campaign, but changed these positions when he decided to run for president. Mitt sometimes battles skepticism about his religion with humor, and even jokes about polygamy, repudiated by the Mormon church more than a century ago. “I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman…and a woman…and a woman,” he cracked at the 2005 St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in Boston.

Ann has generally kept a low profile, devoting her time and energy to raising their sons. But in 1998, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Since then, she has been active in raising awareness of the disease as well as funds for advocacy and research. “Ann is an angel,” her husband says. “She’s a hot angel, but she’s an angel nonetheless.” If her husband wins, she could be the next Nancy Reagan—loyal to her man, but willing to wield her influence behind the scenes. Above all, she’ll keep Mitt happy. f

Barbara Kantrowitz is a senior writer for Newsweek. For more information and tips about relationships, visit Tango magazine online.

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