Gov.'s Latin Love Admits Affair

Updated 5:50 AM EST, Mon, Jun 29, 2009

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A 41-year-old Argentine woman admitted she had a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Sunday.

Maria Belen Chapur told C5n news network in Buenos Aires that she refuses to speak of her private life and that the steamy e-mail exchanges with the married governor were obtained by someone who hacked into her account, according to the Associated Press.

Chapur, who lives in an upscale neighborhood and works as a commodities trader, said she knows who hacked into her account but declined to identify him.

The 200-word statement will be her only comment about her affair with the married father of two, she told the network.

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Sanford admitted to having an extra-marital affair with the Argentine woman last week and said today he considered resigning but has decided to stay in office.

"Resigning would be the easiest thing to do," he told the Associated Press.

Sanford shared a dinner with his wife and kids the night before telling the AP that he would be "walking into the legislative term with a humble spirit" during an exclusive interview outside the family's home on the Carolina coast Sunday.

"I have to go through that voyage over the next 18 months," he said referring to the remaining time in his term.

The governor admitted to a yearlong affair with a woman in Argentina last week and has said he wants to try to reconcile with his wife, Jenny.

"If there wasn't healing going on, I wouldn't be here," Sanford told the AP.

The philandering governor wrote in emails to his mistress that he longed for her "gentle kiss," "tan lines," "the curve" of her hips and "the erotic beauty of holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light" that were made public last week.

Sanford went missing for a week and held a tearful press conference laced with mea culpas and heartfelt pleas for forgiveness.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is godfather to Sanfords' youngest son, said today the troubled politician could preserve his career if he patches things up at home first.

"I've talked to Jenny," Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press" today. "The one thing I can tell you is Mark Sanford is lucky to have Jenny Sanford. I hope he realizes that and I think he does."

Graham cautioned that reconciling won't be easy but could be the best way to win back the trust of loved ones and the citizens of South Carolina.

"I think if Mark can reconcile with Jenny, and that's not going to be easy, that he can finish his last 18 months," he said. "He's had a good reform agenda and I do believe that if he can reconcile with his family, if he's willing to try, that the people of South Carolina would be willing to give him a second chance."