Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., in a very, very lengthy Facebook post announced Friday that he is ending his engagement to longtime girlfriend, “soul mate” and ex-mistress Maria Belen Chapur, the woman at the center of the now infamous “Appalachian Trail” scandal that clouded his governorship.
The South Carolina congressman also announced that he is engaged in several lengthy and costly legal battles with his scorned ex-wife, Jenny Sanford.
“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,” the post reads.
“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. Belen is a remarkably wonderful woman who I have always loved and I will be forever grateful for not only the many years we have known and loved each other, but the last six very tough ones wherein she has encouraged me and silently borne its tribulations with her ever warm and kind spirit,” he added.
Here’s the post in full:
