"I Love My Wife," Famous Words Powerful Men Say After a Public Scandal

The controversy surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer brings about the age-old question that the public ponders when looking at the devastated wife during press conferences involving accusations toward their husband. "Should she stay or should she go?"

That question probably isn't on the mind of the shocked and humiliated wife, who is also a victim. She has to quickly make decisions that her mind can't handle when her family is immediately put in the negative spotlight with a very public look at her marriage and her husband's infidelity.

During the brief press conference on Monday March 10, 2008, Gov. Spitzer stood by his wife Silda Wall Spitzer, who looked lost and stoic as he made his statement in front of the world regarding his involvement with a prostitution ring. The gesture of support given by his wife for merely being with him as he delivered his message showed that there is a strong possibility that she may stay with him after the scandal dies down. After all, they have been married just short of two decades and have three children. What was going on in her mind as the television cameras rolled and the bulbs from the still cameras flashed is a mystery. Plenty of women face the humiliation of a cheating spouse but to have it displayed all over national news is a different story.

In most of the speeches of this kind there is an apology to the wife and family. While the word "love" seems like an oxymoron at the time, I'm sure the man does love his family, he just wasn't showing it at the time he was doing whatever he was doing wrong.

In most situations where the man is rich and powerful, how many times does it end where the woman leaves immediately? Not many. Either they struggle through the repair process or the woman leaves with a hefty chunk of money for spousal and child support. Either way, the man pays for his indiscretions.

Other High Profile Scandals