Rielle Hunter, former mistress to Democratic hopeful John Edwards, and his campaign videographer, has issued a public a apology in the Huffington Post for her behavior during her affair with the shamed politician. Their shenanigans destroyed his career, as well as his family and marriage to his late wife, Elizabeth. Hunter had a daughter with Edwards, Frances, in 2008.

John Edwards denied the affair for over a year, even after tabloids photographed him visiting Hunter and their baby. He was later tried on allegations of misusing funds from his campaign to hide his affair and their baby, but was aquitted when the trial ended in a split jury.

Rielle admitted to “behaving badly” in the essay, stating, “That may seem obvious to you but it’s taken me a long time to admit that, even to myself,” she added, “For years I was so viciously attacked by the media and the world that I felt like a victim. I now realize that the attacks are actually beside the point. The point is: I behaved badly.”

Hunter went on to say that she didn’t realize the incredible scope of the damage her actions could inflict, and was especially regretful of the pain her actions caused Elizabeth, John’s wife who died from breast cancer in 2010. The couple never divorced, but were separated after she found out about the baby, and for the remainder of her life.

“I hurt Elizabeth and her kids. I hurt her family. I hurt John’s family. I hurt people that knew Elizabeth. I hurt people who didn’t know Elizabeth but loved her from afar. I hurt people who gave their hard earned dollars to a campaign — a cause they believed in,” she wrote. “I hurt people who are married and believe in marriage. Many of these people have let me know that I hurt them. Unfortunately, I was not thinking about anyone but myself. I was selfish. I fell in love with John Edwards and wanted to be with him and that desire trumped everything else. “

In the piece, Hunter blames her actions partly on growing up with infidelity as a regular part of life, saying that she was a “product of infidelity”. Not that it’s an excuse. You either repeat history or learn from it, right?

“I believe history often repeats itself if you do not take responsibility and change it. Infidelity is wrong. It hurts people. It hurt me and then I in turn also hurt people,” Hunter wrote. “It is a chain of pain. One I do not wish to pass on to my own daughter. I am sincerely sorry for my bad behavior, and for hurting anyone. If I hurt you, I am sorry. It was not my intention, I was thoughtless and selfish, and I am sorry.”

Her essay comes on the heels of re-release of her memoir about this whole crazy mess called, “In Hindsight, What Really Happened: The Revised Edition: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me”. The world now awaits John Edwards’ apology…

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