Cate Edwards, the eldest daughter of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his late wife Elizabeth, opened up about her father's infamous extramarital affair in an NBC exclusive interview.
In the interview, which will air Friday night at 10 p.m. EST on "Rock Center with Brian Williams," Cate spoke candidly about how her deceased mother's legacy and Rielle Hunter, the actress with whom her father conceived a child out-of-wedlock in 2008. She also revealed that he, himself, told her about his affair with Hunter.
"He told me," the 31-year-old attorney and author said. "I guess he and my mom decided that that was, you know, how it needed to be done. So yeah, I was devastated. And I was disappointed. I mean, these are my parents. I had grown up with a lot of love in my family. And it was hard to see them go through this." She also added that she was mad about the affair.
Edwards revealed that she met Hunter, a film producer, early in her father's campaign and that she thought the book Hunter wrote slamming Elizabeth Edwards was "a poor choice."
John Edwards was elected as a senator from North Carolina in 1998 before he became Sen. John Kerry's White House running mate in the unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaign in 2004. He also made an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
In 2011, he was indicted on six felony charges of violating federal campaign contribution laws in order to conceal an extramarital affair. He was acquitted on one count, and a mistrial was declared on the other five charges.
His late wife Elizabeth was an author and health-care activist who died of breast cancer in December of 2010. However, she received notable publicity when it was discovered that her husband was having an affair.
"I miss her in sort of big ways and small ways," Cate Edwards said of her mother. "You know, it's big things that go by, like my wedding. She wasn't able to be there. But we got to talk about it. And I felt incredibly lucky that I got the chance to even have that conversation with her.
Watch a clip of the interview below.