My guest this episode is Anne Michaud author of “Why They Stay: Sex Scandals, Deals, and Hidden Agendas of Eight Political Wives"

Michaud’s book recounts the stories of powerful political couples whose lives—both personal and public—were transformed by cheating. She explores what motivated each of these women to stand by their unfaithful man and, by consequence, augment his positive perception in the media as a virtuous American brand. Michaud contends that these wives were given little choice other than to publicly support their husbands in the face of affairs and sex scandals: an imperative imposed by political advisors and a moralistic electorate who expect women to appear as supportive and dutiful.