Report: Gingrich Ex-Wife Says he Lacks Moral Character to be President

(Newsroom America) -- ABC News has released excerpts of an explosive interview with Marianne Gingrich, GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich's second wife, in which she asserted that her ex-husband lacks the moral character to serve as president.

In the interview, which is set to air Thursday night on ABC News' "Nightline," Marianne added that the former House speaker's presidential campaign message about family values and moral character doesn't jibe with what she witnessed during 18 years of marriage.

She told ABC News that she's coming forward now - her first interview since the couple divorced in 1999 - because she wanted voters to know what she knows about their relationship.

The interview will air two days before the next GOP primary in South Carolina. The Associated Press reported Thursday that sources close to ABC News initially did not reveal details about what Marianne said during the interview, since the decision to air the interview later in the day was still tentative.

The Drudge Report said earlier that ABC News executives were conflicted over whether to air the interview before the next primary. Initially, Drudge said, a decision had been made to air the interview on Monday, after all of the primary results had been tabulated.

In a separate story earlier in the day, WMAL radio reported that Brian Ross, the ABC News correspondent who interviewed Marianne Gingrich, said the former House speaker came to her before their divorce and said he wanted an "open marriage."

"He came to her and said, 'I want to stay married to you and still have an affair with Calista, his current wife," Ross told the station. "According to Marianne, he said 'You need to share me,' and she said 'I don't want to share,' and the marriage ended."

He continued: "I think we start by knowing that what an ex-wife has to say we all take with a grain of salt, I hope, because that's what ex-wives can be known for. But I think the most dramatic thing from the point of view of people looking at Gingrich in his campaign about character and that he's asked for God's forgiveness and that he believes in the sanctity of marriage is her allegation that what Gingrich wanted from her was an open marriage.

"She talked about how he called her and told her he loved her, knowing that Calista was next to him in bed in their apartment in Washington," Ross said during the station's Morning Majority program.

In her interview, Marianne Gingrich said all of this was occurring during a time when her husband was criticizing President Bill Clinton for his extramarital relationships.

© 2012 Newsroom America.

Newsroom America Twitter Feed