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In October 2007, Rielle Hunter's name was everywhere -- after the National Enquirer reported she had an affair with presidential hopeful John Edwards.
She later became pregnant and while he admitted the affair in 2008, it took years for Edwards to finally confirm that he was indeed the child's father. The admission meant he had not only cheated on his wife, Elizabeth, while she was battling cancer, but had a daughter with the woman as well.
Nine years after the initial reports broke and days before their daughter's 8th birthday, Rielle is speaking out, revealing her current relationship status with her baby daddy and how "absolutely wrong" she was for carrying on with a married man.
"I thought the whole thing was insane," she tells Steve Harvey in an interview airing tomorrow.
When her pregnancy was first reported, one of Edwards' aides, Andrew Young, claimed paternity ... with Hunter going along with the story.
"But why I went along with it, was I was afraid that my daughter who was unborn at that time, would not have a dad," she says now. "I also didn't want to hurt anybody. It was in the middle of a campaign. I didn't want to be the one to bring down an entire campaign."
Hunter says she was "madly in love" with Edwards and says their affair was not a fleeting, "frivolous relationship."
"We were together for nine years. And we still love each other. We're not together, but we still love each other," she continues.
As for how she feels about hooking up with a man whose wife was dying at the time, Rielle says she "never meant to hurt anybody."
"I am really sorry," she continues. "I really truly did not mean to hurt anybody, and I wasn't thinking of anybody but myself. And I was absolutely wrong. Absolutely."
In 2010, Edwards said he would do everything in his power to provide his daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, with "the love and support she deserves" -- something Rielle says continues to this day.
"He's a great dad," she says of Edwards, adding that they see each other all the time. "She's always got a little happy tune going on. She's very loved."
While the two initially split in 2012, it sounds like the couple rekindled their romance for a bit. When asked how long it's been since they broke up, she replies, "Since last February, a year."
She adds that she's "almost ready" to move on.
Watch more of the revealing interview above. The full 1-on-1 airs tomorrow -- check local listings.
