McGreevey’s Estranged Wife To Take Her Turn On Oprah

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY – Former Gov. James E. McGreevey’s estranged wife will take her turn telling tales of life with the closeted gay politician on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Dina Matos McGreevey’s appearance on May 1 will coincide with the release her memoir, “Silent Partner,” published by Hyperion.
Hyperion spokeswoman Beth Gebhard confirmed Matos McGreevey’s upcoming chat with Oprah, as well as two-part “Good Morning America” exclusive on May 2 and May 3. The scheduled Oprah appearance was first reported Wednesday in The Star-Ledger of Newark.
Matos McGreevey’s book follows by less than a year the splashy confessional written by her husband. His tell-all detailed his rapid political rise as a closeted gay man and his spectacular fall after being threatened with blackmail by a former male lover.
He kicked off his national book tour with an appearance on Oprah last September.
On the program, he shocked the studio audience by telling of an affair with a male aid that he said began while his wife was in the hospital recovering from the difficult birth of their child, now 5.
McGreevey recently filed for divorce, and has asked the judge for custody of their daughter and accompanying child support.
Matos McGreevey has never spoken publicly about her role as the gay governor’s wife. Neither she nor her lawyer returned calls or e-mail requests for comment on Wednesday.
McGreevey also did not return a message for comment.
Matos McGreevey is remembered for the dazed look on her face and pasted-on smile she wore while standing beside her husband as he told the world he was “a gay American” in August 2004.
McGreevey now lives in Plainfield with his partner, Australian money manager Mark O’Donnell. Matos McGreevey lives in nearby Springfield with their daughter, Jacqueline.
from Newsday

McGreevey Discusses Sexuality

Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, who resigned after revealing that he was gay, says culture is outpacing politics in the acceptance of homosexuality.
McGreevey, who is in Santa Fe this weekend to speak at a fundraiser for the Human Rights Alliance, called his decision to come out “one of the most painful but honest decisions of my life.”
Even though the revelation of being gay can hurt family and friends, McGreevey said Friday that people must learn at an early age to be open about their sexuality.
“Hopefully, this generation will be the last generation of American youth that has to choose between their heart and their career, between love and acceptance,” he said.
McGreevey also addressed comments made earlier this week by the Pentagon’s top general. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, remarked that homosexual acts are immoral and said the military should not condone homosexuality by allowing gay personnel to serve openly.
“Gen. Pace’s remarks were so terribly unfortunate, not only because that’s what he believes but the notion that don’t ask, don’t tell actually encourages people to be less than honest, less than open, less than transparent,” McGreevey said.
On Thursday, Gov. Bill Richardson – who is running for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination – also criticized the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
McGreevey, also a Democrat, called Richardson a “progressive voice.”
Asked if he was endorsing Richardson’s bid for the presidency, he said it’s “too early in process.”
from The Associated Press

Ex-N.J. Gov. McGreevey Files For Divorce

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY – Former Gov. James McGreevey, who announced he was gay in 2004, filed for divorce Friday from his wife of seven years.
McGreevey’s lawyers filed the two-page document seeking to dissolve his union with Dina Matos McGreevey in Elizabeth, county court spokeswoman Sandra Thaler-Gerber confirmed.
The two have lived apart since November 2004, when McGreevey resigned after announcing that he was “a gay American” who had had an affair with a male staffer.
“It’s a sad day for everyone,” McGreevey told The Associated Press on Friday. “It is something that had to be done. We are blessed with a wonderful daughter who remains our focus.”
The marriage was McGreevey’s second. His previous marriage also ended in divorce.
The male staffer named by McGreevey – Golan Cipel – was hired by the governor in 2002 to a $110,000-a-year homeland security post despite having little experience. Cipel has said he isn’t gay and accused McGreevey of sexually harassing him. McGreevey said Cipel tried to blackmail him and that he resigned rather than succumb to threats.
Matos McGreevey, who stood at her husband’s side as he told the world he was gay, now lives in Springfield with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, Jacqueline. McGreevey lives in Plainfield with his partner, Australian-born money manager Mark O’Donnell.
She has 35 days to answer her husband’s filing or file a counterclaim.
McGreevey and Matos McGreevey legally separated Jan. 12, but Matos McGreevey said some issues regarding their daughter remain unresolved.
“We continue to have profound differences about what our daughter should be exposed to, and until they are resolved, there will be no agreement,” she said through her lawyer, John N. Post.
The relationship between McGreevey and his wife has been subject to much speculation since McGreevey’s resignation. People wondered whether Matos McGreevey knew her husband was gay and whether she willingly helped hide his homosexuality to advance his political career.
McGreevey indicated in his tell-all book last summer, “The Confession,” that his wife suspected his homosexuality as early as 2002, confronting him and asking if he were gay. He wrote that he thought about telling her the truth, but said nothing.
She also has written a book, “Silent Partner,” scheduled for publication May 1, in which she is expected to tell about her life with the former governor for the first time.
from The Associated Press

Gay Ex-Governor’s Wife Writes Memoir

NEW YORK – The estranged wife of former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey, who in 2004 stunned the nation by announcing he was gay and resigning from office, is writing a memoir. Dina Matos McGreevey’s “Silent Partner” is scheduled to be published this spring by Hyperion Books.
“I’ve had a lot of requests for interviews and appearances, but thought it best for my daughter (Jacqueline) and myself to stay out of the public maelstrom,” Dina McGreevey said in a statement released Thursday by Hyperion.
“But two years have passed and still I am the subject of much speculation as to the nature of my relationship with my husband. Enough is enough.”
James McGreevey’s memoir, “The Confession,” came out last fall. He wrote in the book that he was forced to quit after a man he loved threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to stay quiet.
from The Associated Press

McGreevey Portrait Hung At Statehouse

NEW JERSEY – More than two years after announcing that he was gay and would resign, former Gov. James McGreevey returned to the Statehouse for the unveiling of his official portrait Tuesday in an event devoid of the usual fanfare.
It was McGreevey’s first visit to the Capitol since he stepped down. He said Tuesday’s unveiling helped close a chapter of his life.
“It represents a final obligation,” said McGreevey, 49.
Unveilings of governor’s portraits are usually well-attended affairs open to the public. But this was a private event. No formal invitations were issued, Gov. Jon Corzine’ss office did not announce it in advance, and no refreshments were served.
McGreevey said he did not want to publicize the event.
He was joined for the unveiling by his male partner, his parents and Corzine. McGreevey is separated from his wife and lives with his partner.
McGreevey announced his resignation on national television in August 2004, declaring that he was “a gay American.” He said he had had a gay affair with a staffer, later identified as Golan Cipel, McGreevey’s homeland security adviser.
Cipel has denied an affair took place and claims the governor sexually harassed him.
The portrait depicts McGreevey in his office at the governor’s residence in Princeton.
from The Associated Press

Cipel Says Ex-Gov. McGreevey Is Not Gay

The man former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey identified as his gay lover said Thursday he believes McGreevey is not gay.
Appearing on “Larry King Live,” Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen hired by McGreevey first as a campaign aide and later as his homeland security adviser, said that McGreevey’s 2004 resignation speech admission that he is “a gay American” was “part of the spin.”
Through lawyers, Cipel had threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment shortly before and after McGreevey’s resignation. A lawsuit was never filed.
“I think McGreevey had no choice. There was a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. And he didn’t know what to do, and his advisers told him, ‘come out first,’ and he would be perceived as the victim” and thereby gain control of the story, Cipel said.
While he said McGreevey did make sexual advances toward him on several occasions, Cipel said the former governor also frequently spoke about heterosexual encounters, including sex with prostitutes on trips to Germany and the Dominican Republic.
“I believe that Jim McGreevey is bisexual,” Cipel said.
Cipel, 37, in his first extended national television interview since the publication in September of McGreevey’s memoir, “The Confession,” also urged the gay community “not to embrace McGreevey,” saying the former governor committed sexual harassment against him and others.
Cipel, who has repeatedly denied being gay, again insisted that McGreevey’s often graphic portrayal of their relationship in the book is untrue.
In the book, McGreevey, 49, writes that he was forced to resign after Cipel threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to keep quiet.
McGreevey released a statement Thursday night saying, “I stand behind the truth and accuracy of every word in this book.” He said he and Cipel had a consensual relationship that lasted for months.
“My only wish for Golan is that he find peace and acceptance in his life,” McGreevey said in the statement.
McGreevey now works as an educational consultant and a childhood anti-poverty advocate, and lives in Plainfield, N.J., with his partner, Mark O’Donnell. Cipel has been living in Israel.
from The Associated Press