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Hunter Biden’s ex-wife recalls ‘strange’ reaction she had after learning about his affair with sister-in-law

June 2, 2022 | | Print Article

Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, reportedly forgives him for all his addictions, lies, and infidelities — of which, it would appear, there was plenty.

Buhle is set later this month to release a tell-all memoir, titled “If We Break: A Memoir of Marriage, Addiction, and Healing,” and, according to a sneak peek granted to People magazine, it’s as scandalous as it sounds.

Excerpts from the book shared with People magazine reveal that the two met in their 20s, quickly hit it off, were married in 1993, and were living together in Delaware with three children by 2001.

By then, Biden was already making waves with all his business deals — deals that are now under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“He started many ventures . . . a real estate investment fund and then a technology company. I didn’t understand any of it, or what pieces of his businesses actually generated income for us,” one excerpt reads.

It was also around this time that Buhle realized that her then-husband had a drinking problem.

“One Saturday morning when we had friends visiting, Hunter walked into the kitchen looking as if he hadn’t gone to sleep. I was making pancakes as I watched him pull a bottle of Jack Daniel’s out of the cabinet. ‘Hunter! What are you doing?’ I said. ‘It’s 10 a.m.!’ I don’t think he knew what time it was, and he still seemed drunk. He laughed and put the bottle back. We all stared,” another excerpt reads.

Biden’s drinking led to him checking in and out of rehab for years, including in 2012, when, after his father won reelection, he showed up drunk to a fundraising event.

Fast-forward by three years to May of 2015, when his brother Beau died of brain cancer, leaving behind a widow, Hallie, and two children. Biden responded by setting up a foundation on his brother’s behalf and spending lots of time with Hallie.

“After the funeral [for Beau], I saw a purpose in Hunter’s work to set up the Beau Biden Foundation with Hallie and his parents. But he started spending most of his time at Hallie’s house,” another excerpt from Buhle’s memoir reads.

“Our therapist told me Hunter needed to be up there, helping Hallie. ‘But what about his sobriety?’ I asked her. ‘He needs routine. He needs to be home with us.’ [The therapist] held firm that being with Hallie and her kids was an important part of Hunter’s grieving,” the book excerpt reads.

It was around this time that Buhle became aware of Biden’s infidelity. Specifically, that summer Biden admitted to her that he’d been seeing prostitutes while working abroad. Meanwhile, Buhle found one of his crackpipes in their ashtray.

The offenses were enough that she threw him out of their home in anger. He reportedly relocated to an apartment, and the mistrust between the two grew.

(FYI, the prostitute habit continued for many years.)

“In the fall of 2015, I called and texted Hunter compulsively. From my computer, I watched his every move. There were charges at Lake Tahoe at a nail salon and a charge for two lift tickets. I found a credit card charge for $10,000 at a hot tub store in Los Angeles. I found hundreds at liquor stores and strip clubs,” another excerpt reads.

“The whole time, he told me he was healthy and sober—and I was crazy. I continually told him that I was the one person actually trying to get him sober. It became my own kind of addiction. I didn’t want to admit, to myself or anyone else, how unhealthy our relationship had become, so my struggle was just one more secret.”

A year later in November of 2016, Buhle received a frightening phone call from her daughter Finnegan.

“I received the kind of call that tightens every parent’s chest. ‘Mom, I need to talk to you,’ Finnegan mumbled through tears. ‘I’m at Debbie’s.’ As I ran to my car, my mind went to intense fear. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked. ‘Please, just come,’ she said,” another excerpt reads.

Debbie was the family therapist — presumably the same one who’d encouraged Biden to spend time with Halie.

Buhle rushed over to Debbie’s home and found her daughter “curled in a chair, holding a pillow while she wept.”

“I wrapped my arms around her. ‘Everything will be okay. All right?’ I told her. ‘I love you.’ ‘Debbie,’ Finny said once we had Naomi on speakerphone, ‘can you tell her? We can’t do it,'” the excerpt continues.

Naomi is Hallie’s second daughter.

Debbie then looked Buhle in the eye and said, “Kathleen, Hunter’s having an affair with Hallie.”

“‘Oh my God.’ This was all I said. Was this what shock felt like? ‘How do you know?’ I finally asked. ‘We found his phone,’ Finnegan said. ‘There were text messages between them,’ Naomi added,” the excerpt reads.

But Buhle didn’t respond with anger. She responded with a sense of vindication.

“I felt a strange vindication. Not only had I not been crazy, but it was so much worse than I could have imagined. I was shocked, but not heartbroken. Heartbreak had already flattened my self-esteem that past year,” the excerpt continues.

Indeed, according to the latest reports, Biden even cheated on Hallie at one point:

What a guy …

Buhle eventually divorced Biden in 2017 and then went to court two years later to reclaim her original name.

“Biden was my name. I’d taken it so we could be a family. It was my daughter’s name, after all. In many ways, my last name became a crown and shield to me; it wasn’t easy to consider giving it up. Changing my name had been as frightening as anything I’d ever done before. I was no longer a Biden. I’d handed in my crown and shield because I no longer needed them. Maybe I never had,” the final excerpt reads.

Vivek Saxena
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