The woman who engaged in an extramarital affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens spoke out publicly for the first time since the details of their relationship broke, in which she attempted to make amends with his wife.
The woman, identified in documents as “K.S.” or “Witness 1,” told KSDK she stands by her decision to detail her private interactions with Greitens, which occurred before he was elected governor.
The woman told a Missouri House investigative committee she and Greitens had several sexual encounters, some of which were consensual and others that were not. She also told the committee the governor slapped her, coerced her into performing oral sex, called her derogatory names, and threatened to blackmail her if she went public with their affair.
“I didn’t want this. I wasn’t out to get anyone,” she told KSDK. “I really was just trying to live my life.”
Greitens has admitted to engaging in the affair, but denies allegations he threatened to blackmail her and engaged in sexual violence or coercion.
“The second that he denied the things that were the most hurtful, that were the most difficult for me to now have to relive, I just realized now I have this decision,” the woman said. “The only ethical thing I felt I could do is to tell the truth.”
The details of the affair were brought to light by the woman’s ex-husband, who recorded her discussing her relationship with Greitens.
The Missouri governor faced a felony invasion of privacy charge after he was accused of taking a photo of the woman without her consent. But prosecutors dropped the charge this month.
A special prosecutor has since been named in the invasion of privacy case.
Though Greitens has denied the allegations, members of the investigative committee said they found the woman’s testimony to be “overall credible.”
“I have no ill intentions other than not being made to be a liar,” she said. “I’m not lying. This is hard. It was hard at that time and it’s hard to talk about now.”
The woman told KSDK she would apologize to Greitens’ wife if given the chance.
“I would absolutely apologize,” she said. “I shouldn’t have been involved with him. I should not have gone into her home. I know that.”
Greitens still faces a felony charge of computer data tampering related to his gubernatorial campaign’s use of a donor list obtained from the veterans organization he founded in 2007.
The governor allegedly used the list from The Mission Continues to solicit donations for his 2016 campaign.
