On Facebook, congressman Mark Sanford announces end of engagement
South Carolina congressman Mark Sanford took to social media Friday to announce the end of his engagement to the woman who was his mistress while he was governor, embroiling him in controversy.
Toward the bottom of a Facebook post so long it requires numerous scrolls to get through, Sanford said his engagement to Maria Belen Chapur had ended and the couple had split.
Sanford’s reasons for the decision revolve around a bitter divorce and custody battle with his ex-wife, Jenny, he said.
“No relationship can stand forever this tension of being forced to pick between the one you love and your own son or daughter, and for this reason Belen and I have decided to call off the engagement,” according to Sanford’s post. “Maybe there will be another chapter when waters calm with Jenny, but at this point the environment is not conducive to building anything given no one would want to be caught in the middle of what’s now happening.”
Sanford was governor from 2003 to 2011.
Despite his fall from grace after the affair with Chapur became public in 2009, Sanford was elected to Congress during a special election in 2013.
The Facebook posting ends with Sanford saying he must rededicate himself to God for answers.
“This posting has been most personal, but again given the gravity of what has been alleged I felt compelled to address it and the larger context of where our family is and where we are headed,” he said.
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