Elizabeth Edwards speaks out

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former U.S. presidential hopeful John Edwards, called his admitted affair "a terrible mistake" in a statement released Friday.

In the statement posted on the political blog Daily Kos, Elizabeth Edwards said she found the information "hard to bear" when her husband told her of the affair in 2006.

John Edwards acknowledged the affair in an interview with ABC's "Nightline." But he denied he fathered a child with Rielle Hunter, a videographer who made Web documentaries for his campaign.

Elizabeth Edwards said National Enquirer stories about the affair included "harmful and absurd lies." Andrew Young, a former Edwards campaign aide, has said he is the father of the child, and John Edwards said the child was conceived after he ended the affair.

"Admitting one's mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame," Elizabeth Edwards said. "The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue."