Republican governor acknowledges affair but denies blackmail

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has acknowledged being “unfaithful” in his marriage but denies allegations that he blackmailed a woman to stay quiet, following a bombshell news report that overshadowed his annual address to the Legislature.

The Republican governor and his wife released a statement late Wednesday after St. Louis television station KMOV reported that he had a sexual relationship with his former hairdresser in 2015. The station reported that the woman’s ex-husband alleged Greitens photographed her nude and threatened to publicize the images if she spoke about the affair.

“A few years ago, before Eric was elected governor, there was a time when he was unfaithful in our marriage,” said a statement from Greitens and his wife, Sheena. “This was a deeply personal mistake. Eric took responsibility, and we dealt with this together honestly and privately.”

A first-time candidate, Greitens rose to office in the same November 2016 election that brought President Trump to power. His campaign capitalized on his military service as a Navy SEAL, his work as founder of a veterans’ charity and “most importantly” his role as “a proud husband and father.” The Greitens married in 2011 and have two young sons.

During the campaign, Greitens cast himself as an outsider going up against a career politician, the state’s Democratic attorney general. He’s not up for re-election until 2020. He has barely hidden his higher political ambitions and reserved the web address ericgreitensforpresident.com years ago.

The television report aired after Greitens gave his State of the State address.

The woman involved did not comment on the record to the station, which did not name her. But her ex-husband, who also was not named, provided an audio recording he made to KMOV in which the woman gives details about a sexual encounter she says she had with Greitens in March 2015 at his St. Louis home. The woman did not know her then-husband was recording their conversation.

The alleged March 2015 encounter came after Greitens opened a committee to explore a bid for Missouri governor but before he officially announced his candidacy. She said on the tape that he invited her downstairs at his home because he wanted to show her “how to do a proper pull-up.”

She said: “I knew he was being sexual, and I still let him. And he used some sort of tape, I don’t know what it was, and taped my hands to these rings and then put a blindfold on me.”

She says she later realized he took a photo of her.

“I saw a flash through the blindfold and he said, ‘You’re never going to mention my name.’ ”

The hairdresser eventually sent Greitens an email asking him to stop booking appointments at the salon where she worked.