My heroine for the week is Jenny Sanford. For those of you who just came back to Earth after a two weeks vacation on Mars, Jenny Sanford is the wife of South Caroline’s governor. A few weeks ago, he lied to her and his staff, stating that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail, Instead, he hiked down to South America for a tryst with his “soul mate”. So why does this make Jenny Sanford my heroine?
First, unlike other political wives who stand bravely by, a painful smile on their face, while their cheating spouses confess all, Jenny Sanford didn’t. So that’s one point in her favor–she didn’t humiliate herself in public. Her next point came when the media asked how she felt her husband’s confession would impact his career. Her answer? She didn’t care; his career is his problem. She is more concerned with how his confession impacts their 20 year marriage and their two sons. And finally, she has stood alone these past days. She moved out, gives interviews without him, and refuses to let the media turn her pain into a circus with her as the prime performer. She’s been grace under fire.
Now, she isn’t a heroine without flaws. She’s known since January about this other woman, though I’m not sure if she knew about the other women he confessed about at the beginning of last week. He even asked her permission to go visit the other woman! She told him no, but didn’t she get a clue from this that maybe he wasn’t as serious about their marriage?
The reality is Jenny Sanford is a Christian woman who believes in the vows she took, even if her husband broke them. She must love him; she does have 20 years invested in their relationship. I have to admit, I’m impressed, but then I’m not nearly as good a Christian as she. I have zero tolerance for betrayal.
As I’ve kept track of this story, I kept thinking what a book this would be. The long-time married hero betrays heroine. They break up (not necessarily divorce) and the book picks up where they try to put the pieces together again. But will it be a romance or a love story? Will the hero sincerely repent of his ways? Will their love be reborn, different, but stronger? Or will it be a love story where the betrayal is too deep? Will they go their separate ways and he dies some awful, lingering, painful death that started in his privates…alone, scared, regretting that he lost the best thing in his life?
Guess which way I’m leaning? 
