Via ABC News

In an interview published by The Washington Post today, Marianne Gingrich, the ex-wife of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, said he asked her in 1999 if he could seek out other partners while remaining legally married.

The former House speaker, who this morning was endorsed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, requested a divorce from Marianne on May 11, 1999, just a day before giving a speech “extolling the virtues of the founding fathers and criticizing liberal politicians for supporting tax increases, saying that they hurt families and children,” the Post reports. The open-marriage request came about a month later.

Marianne Gingrich, the former speaker’s second wife, also gave an interview to ABC News that is scheduled to be broadcast tonight on Nightline. Talking to the Post, she says she was compelled to speak out after hearing her ex-husband’s supporters make nasty remarks about her:

Marianne said she was speaking out for the first time this year because she wanted her story told from her point of view, rather than be depicted as the victim or suffer a whisper campaign by supporters of Newt Gingrich’s presidential bid.

“How could he ask me for a divorce on Monday and within 48 hours give a speech on family values and talk about how people treat people?” she said.

…

Marianne said she decided to go public when she heard someone make derogatory comments about her on a radio program.

“Truthfully, my whole purpose was to get out there about who I was, so Newt couldn’t create me as an evil, awful person, which was starting to happen,” she said.

In the ABC News interview, Marianne Gingrich says the divorce request came shortly after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She also says Newt consummated an affair with Callista Bisek, now his third wife, in the bedroom of their D.C. apartment.

Gingrich’s daughters (from his first marriage) also begged ABC News not to air the segment, implying she’s bitter from the divorce, “Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events,” the adult daughters said. We will not say anything negative about our father’s ex-wife. He has said before, privately and publicly, that he regrets any pain he may have caused in the past to people he loves.”