It is a train wreck and people love train wrecks. If you are high profile, you should not be acting low profile or people in the middle profile will be calling you out on your behavior. I think of the pain caused to his wife and family and I think he is a low-down dirty dog of a man.

Yes. But I´d be surprised if she will divorce him and lose all the perks a retired general´s wife enjoys.

I guarantee that I am MORE furious than Mrs. Petraeus. Her family may be shattered but the damage her husband and this Administration has done to my country is incalculable. The lives and safety of 350,000,000 Americans have been put in jeopardy because this creep believed his own press- that standards and rules do not apply to him. Thanks a bunch Petraeus. And to Obama and his corrupt cronies that put their own political ambition above our nation, you have violated your oath of office and probably a dozen laws. You need to pay for what you have done. I am embarrassed and ashamed of my country at this moment. We have become a miserable joke thanks to these monsters.

She won´t divorce him. Her children are adults so there is no reason to stay with him "for the sake of the children". She should be seeing DC´s best divorce lawyer this very morning, but I bet Petraous is living at home as we speak. Go down the list of both Republican and Democrat affairs by public men- the wives don´t ever stand up for themselves and leave the bum.

this government is such a mess! A human Zoo.

There are certain lines that you draw as a married man. They must be far from the point where temptation can cause compromise.

In 35 years as a married man, I have never befriended a woman in the sense that she visits me (or I her) in a home or room without my wife or others present. I do not go to lunch or dinner alone with a woman. I do not have lengthy discussions of problems, particularly marital problems, with a woman.

That said, I enjoy a wonderful relationship with my female colleagues (80% of the people in my immediate workplace are women). I respect them and love them dearly. I open doors for them while on travel and carry heavy items. They stand back in terror after asking me to remove the occasional poison-stricken cockroach stumbling through the passageway. They express their appreciation and thanks for the degree of respect I afford them.

People have told me that I am old-fashioned and sexist, that women can be pals and buddies in the same way as men and men. Sorry, I don´t buy it. Human nature is what it is, and avoiding temptation is best accomplished by keeping it as far away as possible.

Most "perks" disappear when you retire...even for generals.

She has moral grounds to divorce him.

So divorce him or shut up.

Not to be too crass, but . . . this was another good reason to delay the news, weddings are no place for sour news!

Furious enough to... The other, other woman with the ´stay away´ emails part of the story seems lame. I think the furious wife put the FBI onto Petraeus to get even.

Well said, Poster #6. Well said.

It´s hard to believe Petraeus could be so stupid. He let the little head think for the big one, which always leads to trouble.

I admit it, I read the DM for the gossip but it really is a silly newspaper. The "Tarnished joy" caption under a wedding photo makes no sense. The wedding wasn´t tarnished, the family hadn´t been thrown into turmoil at that point.

Agree with #6 - I have several men friends. We discuss politics, current events, office gossip, etc. Spouses are off limits (except if they´re sick). we do share the occasional crazy in-laws story, but that´s about it for family. It probably helps that I´m not on the make - I find men more interesting than women and frankly, the best gossips I´ve ever known have been men!

In the old West Point photo the young Holly is a ringer for Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame. I wonder if Emma will look like Holly thirty years down the road.

Photos of her when they got married and photos of her to date go a long way as to why his eye wandered. How hard is it to stay in some kind of shape. He seems to be fit, she is borderline obese. Sure he did wrong, but then she ain´t all that pure about her part of the vows.

I imagine that Petraeus is a serial cheater and Mrs Petraeus has known this for years but decided to continue life with him. Who knows what kind of agreement they made with each other? For the children, for his career, for her career as a general´s wife? But this public, in your face stuff makes it difficult for her to continue the charade. Maybe she will decide to stay married to the creap in order to receive the monetary benefits she has surely earned - and maybe one of his wacko women will finish him off.

#16, So it´s the wife´s fault for not staying pretty enough?! And that was part of her vows?! Wow!

#16,

So the vows go, "in sickness or in health, but not aging or becoming unattractive"? No wonder the divorce rate is so high. Maybe the reason all marriages don´t end that way is because not all husbands or wives are superficial.

Commenters, you are missing the obvious: Mrs. General Petraeus was given a lush job that she had no prior qualifications for by Obama as bribe money to keep her money grubbing, honey grabbing husband quiet. Holly should have the decency to just go away. I don´t care want she is feeling, but unfortunately, she will show up for this make believe job and collect her $150,000 plus a year.
General Petraeus was bought by Obama, and he abandoned his country for money and to hide his tawdry affair that Obama apparently arranged. Very sad. However, not as sad as the horribly wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan who are depending upon private charities to build ramps, donate cars, and more. Obama is not giving these true heros jobs.

I stand by my post.....too many women and some men look at marriage as an ok to become fat slobs. My nephew got married six months ago and has put on at least fifteen pounds a month in six months. I am sure his bride did not think she was getting that.

Yes, vows.....if she was to know what he would be like just six months later there would have been no marriage.

There is some truth to the old saying that a wedding cake is a form of birth control.

She is 60ish, He prefers 30ish..why not do the honorable thing, give her the house, 1/2 your retirement and assets and move OUT.
Cruel comments about her looks, 60 is not 37..she is probably more beautiful inside than that predator.
Disgusting how so many of the young think that what´s on the outside is all that matters.
How are you going to handle your own wrinkles?

#21,

Do you remember the words in the vows? There are no exceptions if the parties´ physical appearances change - at least not in the vows my husband and I took more than 25 years ago. Perhaps there are other vows that allow for "loss of attractiveness" exclusions nowadays. Even gay marriage is legal, so perhaps anything goes.

I feel sorry for #21..who is obviously too selfish to understand true commitment. Physical beauty is a very small part of a long term relationship. Yes, I have gained weight over my 30 year marriage. Partly due to a medication I take for a chronic illness. But you know what,my husband has lost a lot of hair, his teeth have darkened, we´ve both become wrinkled and I´ve turned gray while hubby has turned white. BUT, we love each other for who we are. And we both love unconditionally. I would die for him, and he would for me too. You see, that´s what true commitment is about, through better or worse..there is a lot between those two words, including physical changes. The General apparently didn´t realize that....my heart aches for his wife.

Last time I checked, wedding vows are for better or for worse. There is nothing in there about gaining weight or getting old. Petraeus is no prize himself, physically. He is skinny and stooped over and I have to wonder if his hair is really his. Here is what I really think of him: there is no fool like an old fool.