Childhood & Early Life
Rielle Hunter was born Lisa Jo Druck, on March, 20, 1964, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., to Gwen and James Druck.
She grew up with three sisters. Her parents divorced in 1982.
She attended the 'St. John Lutheran School' and the 'North Marion High School' in Ocala, Florida.
In her teenage years, she was an award-winning equestrian.
After her graduation, she attended the 'University of Tampa,' a private university in Tampa, Florida. In her junior year, she chose to be transferred to the 'University of Florida' in Gainesville, Florida.
However, she soon dropped out and shifted to New York City to build a career in acting.
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Credits as an Artist
She is also known by her screen name, “Lisa Hunter.”
She performed in four movies, playing a minor role in 'Overboard,' a nightclub dancer in 'Deadly Addiction,' a reporter in 'Ricochet,' and 'Billy Bob and Them.' The movies were released in 1987, 1988, 1991, and 2000, respectively. She also wrote and produced 'Billy Bob and Them.'
The media reported that while she was married to Alexander Hunter (in 1991), he funded the production of her play 'Savage in Limbo.'
In 2002, she appeared as a contestant on the TV game show 'Lingo.’
In mid-2006, John Edwards signed a contract with her production company, ‘Midline Groove Productions,’ to produce webisodes containing behind-the-scenes footage of his 2008 presidential campaign.
The webisodes were broadcast on ‘YouTube’ and were an instant hit. She was hailed as one of the first to choose the web to make a political campaign viral. She was one of the earliest filmmakers to have made the internet a serious competition to conventional media in terms of viewership and advertisements.
In 2010, she appeared in four episodes of 'Entertainment Tonight,' a TV news magazine.
Some of her other shows were 'Piers Morgan Live' (2012), 'Steve Harvey' (2016) 'Good Morning America’ (2016), and 'Extra with Billy Bush' (2016).
She authored the book 'What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me,' released by 'BenBella Books' on June 26, 2012.
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Family & Personal Life
American author John Barrett "Jay" McInerney, Jr. had dated Hunter once.
On August 3, 1991, she married attorney Alexander M. "Kip" Hunter III in the resort city of Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Following this, she moved in with Alexander Hunter at their new residence in Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
In 1994, she adopted the name “Rielle Hunter.” Until then, she was mostly known by her birth name.
In October 1999, the couple filed for divorce. The divorce was granted on September 1, 2000.
She has a daughter named Frances Quinn Hunter, who was born out of her extramarital relationship with John Edwards.
Scandals
Show jumper “Henry the Hawk,” owned by a 17-year-old Hunter, was allegedly the first victim of her father's gruesome conspiracy of electrocuting horses.
The series of horse murders that followed became one of the most infamous cases of the “Horse Murders Scandal.”
Her affair with John Edwards brought her a lot of criticism.
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By May 2007, she was pregnant with Edwards's child. However, she realized it in July 2007.
An August 2007 gossip column in the 'New York Post' eventually led to the unraveling of the illicit relationship.
‘The Huffington Post' revealed that the webisodes produced by her were taken off the internet in September 2007 because it violated the campaign’s finance law.
The early findings by ‘The National Enquirer,' 'The Huffington Post,' and the magazine 'New York' (in October 2007) were denied by her.
However, 2 months later, in December 2007, Hunter revealed she was pregnant and that Andrew Young, a staff on Edwards's team for the presidential campaign, was the father.
On February 27, 2008, her daughter was born, but Hunter refrained from mentioning the name of the father on the birth certificate. In the column of the mother’s name, her name was listed as “Rielle Jaya James Druck.” Her daughter was named Frances Quinn Hunter.
In July 2008, 'The National Enquirer' revealed that Edwards was the father of Quinn, a report that was denied by Edwards the following month. However, he accepted that he had had an affair with Hunter. He also stated that he was ready to undergo a DNA test to determine whether or not he was the father.
Subsequently, Hunter's relatives demanded he undergo the test, but Hunter refused to cooperate.
On August 12, 2008, Hunter's friend Pigeon O'Brien alleged that Edwards had lied about the timeline of the affair. She claimed that their relationship had begun in February 2006 and was not a brief liaison, as Edwards had claimed, but a serious courtship.
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A year later, in August 2009, Edwards came under investigation for misappropriation of funds to cover up the scandal.
On January 21, 2010, Edwards finally admitted that he was the father of Quinn.
After a hotel encounter on July 21, 2008, media reports alleged that a videotape that showed both Hunter and Edwards in a compromising position had surfaced.
In 2012, during her book release, she claimed that her relationship with Edwards had ended. However, during a 2016 appearance on the TV show 'Steve Harvey,' she confessed that they had been together until 2015.
In an interview with 'The Hollywood Reporter' in February 2019, she revealed that she had felt stalked by 'The National Enquirer' and explained how she had put it all behind and moved on. She also claimed that she was proud that she had gained more knowledge and wisdom from her experiences.
Facts About Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter is a talented filmmaker and produced a series of web videos about spirituality and personal growth.
She is a skilled equestrian and has a passion for horseback riding.
Rielle Hunter has a love for fashion and has been known to make unique and daring style choices.
She is a dedicated advocate for environmental causes and has worked on several campaigns to promote sustainable living.
Rielle Hunter is a published author and has written about her personal experiences and insights on life and relationships.
