Ex-wife not aware Governor had gay lovers
The estranged wife of gay ex-New Jersey governor James McGreevey did not know her husband was carrying on a relationship with a man, says the ghostwriter for her upcoming memoir.
Elizabeth Stone, the uncredited co-author of Silent Partner, due out May 1st, spoke about writing Dina Matos McGreevey’s book Saturday.
She spoke during a Fordham University panel discussion on memoir writing for students and alumni, The Star-Ledger newspaper reports.
Matos McGreevey, who stood behind her husband in August of 2004 as he announced he was “a gay American” and was stepping down from office, has never spoken publicly about her life with McGreevey.
The Associated Press reports that Stone said Matos McGreevey’s memoir is based on a “translation” of the past as she tries to re-examine her life to see whether she should have known about her husband’s infidelity and sexual orientation.
“Dina McGreevey lived 10 years with a man who was gay, but she didn’t know he was gay,” said Stone, who teaches English and journalism at Fordham, reports the AP.
“People who have loved ones who betray them, what do they do when they find out? They have to go back and re-experience.”
In the excerpt read by Stone, Matos McGreevey talks about why she decided to tell her story.
“It has for me been a healing venture. It allowed me to move on with my life. It is my conviction that others can survive as well.
“This is my story about my experience as I lived it at the moment, and not quite the same thing, about my experience as I look back on it. Tell others your story as I tell you mine. Don’t let others tell it for you.”
According to the Star-Ledger, Stone’s comments were the first glimpses into the experiences of Matos McGreevey, 40.
The former First Lady of New Jersey has remained almost completely out of the public eye since she stood nearly motionless at McGreevey’s side when he resigned in August 2004.
Stone told the Star-Ledger that she, too, doubts McGreevey is gay.
“He’s really a bisexual American, but it didn’t have the same panache,” she said.
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