Starting Point
Aug. 12, 2004: New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey announces his resignation and confesses to an adulterous affair with another man. With his wife, Dina, standing behind him, McGreevey confidently tells the gathered press, "I am a gay American."
Fever Pitch
McGreevey's secret came to light because his Israeli lover, Golan Cipel, threatened to sue him for sexual harassment. Years later, as the McGreeveys were settling a bitter divorce, his former driver Teddy Pedersen claimed that he'd engaged in threesomes with the couple after frequent dinners at T.G.I. Friday's— a ritual they called the "Friday-night special."
Present Day
Since 2007, McGreevey, now 51, has been studying at New York's General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. The ex-governor declined to comment on his new life, saying in an e-mail to NEWSWEEK that he wishes to "maintain 'quiet' not only for the path I seek, but also as a form of 'spiritual discipline'." He lives in Plainfield, N.J., with his partner, Australian financier Mark O'Donnell.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
