Opinion: Jenny Sanford files for divorce as her ‘luv gov’ husband seeks another chance

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford -- who will be remembered in political history as the wife who chose not to stand by her man as he disgraced himself in public -- filed for divorce this morning.

Last summer her husband, Gov. Mark Sanford, confessed to lying to his staff about hiking on the Appalachian Trail while actually in Argentina with his mistress, a woman he described as his soul mate.

After that, Jenny Sanford -- who once worked as an investment advisor on Wall Street -- moved out of the governor’s mansion with the couple’s four sons to the family’s beach house on Sullivans Island near Charleston.

Thursday, the governor told reporters he still wants to reconcile with his wife. ‘Yeah. I mean, you may have missed it, but I mean I was down there last night and dropped by and saw the kids,’ he said.

This has been a tumultuous week for the first family. A legislative committee recommended a rebuke for Mark Sanford’s misuse of state planes during the summertime adventure in Argentina, saying his actions brought ‘ridicule, dishonor, disgrace and shame’ on South Carolina.

And, as the Ticket reported Thursday, his wife granted an interview to ABC’s Barbara Walters in which she said ‘hurdles are high’ for the couple’s reconciliation.

Once considered a promising Republican prospect for president, Sanford, who has one more year in his term as governor, faces a hearing next month on 37 charges brought by the state Ethics Commission over his actions and could face $74,000 in fines.

-- Johanna Neuman

Click here to receive Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item every day. Or follow us @latimestot. We’re also over here on Facebook. And our new Facebook fan page is here.