Inside Giuliani's Marriage

Judith and Rudy Giuliani: She adores her romantic-comedy-watching man.

By barbarakantrowitz — Written on May 03, 2007

RUDY GIULIANI AND JUDITH STISH NATHAN

Married Since: 2003
Family Album: Giuliani has a son and a daughter from his second marriage. Nathan has a daughter from her second marriage.

The tabloid ink expended on this union rivals headlines about the Clintons. Years before their divorce scandal, Rudy Giuliani's second marriage to Donna Hanover was major gossip fodder in New York. There were persistent rumors—vehemently denied—that he was having an affair with his attractive female communications director, Christyne Lategano. The gossip took a toll.

In 1997, Hanover refused to answer when asked if she had cast her vote for Rudy as mayor. She later hosted many women's networking dinners at Gracie Mansion, New York's mayoral home, without mentioning her husband. After their dueling press conferences, the Mansion became a battleground. His lawyer alleged that while Rudy was ill with the side effects of his chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, she relegated him to a small bedroom and kept the master suite. He also accused her of waking him up early in the morning by exercising in the room over his head. A year later, Rudy moved out and stayed with friends. She, in turn, accused him of "open and notorious adultery." After the battle ended in 2002 with a $6.8 million settlement for Hanover, her lawyer called it a "spectacular win," adding that the former mayor has admitted "cruel and inhuman treatment" based on his open relationship with the twice-married Judith Nathan.

None of this is, of course, mentioned on his campaign website. In fact, the only family cited is the third Mrs. Giuliani, described as "a registered nurse with an extensive medical and scientific background." His son, Andrew, 21, recently told reporters that he is estranged from his father because of the divorce and remarriage.

The couple is openly affectionate. In an interview in Harper's Bazaar, Judith described Rudy as the "Energizer Bunny with no rechargeable batteries." Not bad for a 63-year-old cancer survivor. "I've always liked strong, macho men and Rudy—I'm not saying this because he's my husband—is one of the smartest people on the planet," she said. She also described him as surprisingly romantic. "We love watching Sleepless in Seattle," she said. "Can you imagine my big testosterone-factor husband doing that?"

Will such lovey-dovey images counteract the bad divorce memories? Rudy's already in trouble with the GOP's evangelical base for his support of abortion rights. Recently, one Southern Baptist leader said Rudy's messy personal life added to the doubts. "This is divorce on steroids," said Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention. "To publicly humiliate your wife in that way, and your children? That's rough. I think that's going to be an awfully hard sell, even if he weren't pro-choice and pro-gun control." His heroic leadership during 9/11 won't be enough to erase the scandal. "He's great at running frantically through ruins, acting like he's in charge of something," says Frank Pittman, a psychiatrist and family therapist in private practice in Atlanta and the author of Private Lies: Infidelity and the Betrayal of Intimacy. "But he couldn't go home, since his wife had kicked him out because he was having an affair with somebody else."

Judith is still a novice on the campaign trail, but her style appears to be Mamie times 10. She's feminine, flirty, and completely faithful to Rudy. No word on her fudge recipe—yet.

Click Here For The Official Giuliani Recruitment Site.
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Barbara Kantrowitz is a senior writer for Newsweek.