After it was revealed that he had been sending explicit photos to strangers on Twitter Anthony Weiner was forced to resign from Congress. Absent from all of the interviews and press conferences at that time was his wife, Huma Abedin. Now that more illicit conversations between Weiner and a different anonymous woman have been leaked on the Internet Abedin has been front and center with her husband as he apologizes.
Abedin gave a press conference of her own on Tuesday explaining why she has stayed with Weiner throughout all of the controversy, according to CNN.
"It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony," Abedin said. "It was not an easy choice in any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage."
In order to better understand the woman who has stuck by Weiner's side here are five things you should know about Huma Abedin.
1. Abedin has been working with Hilary Clinton since 1996.
Abedin started working as an intern for Clinton in 1996. During Clinton's campaign for the presidential nomination in 2008 Abedin had been promoted to traveling chief of staff. To this day she still works as an aide to the former first lady, according to CNN.
2. Abedin's parents were from pre-partition India.
Syed Zainul Abedin, Huma's father, came to the United States to teach at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich.. Saleha, Huma's mother, is of Pakistani descent, according to the Times of India.
3. Abedin was included on Time's "40 Under 40" list.
In 2010 Time profiled Abedin as an up and coming civic leader. In the profile Abedin said that she thinks child hunger is an overlooked issue in America.
4. Michele Bachmann and other GOP members of Congress accused Abedin of having ties to Muslim extremists.
Bachmann and four other congressmen sent a letter to intelligence officials accusing Abedin of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. In the accusation Bachmann said that her father, mother and brother had ties to a member of the organization. John McCain blasted Bachmann for the accusation, according to CBS News.
"When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it," McCain said.
5. Bill Clinton presided over Abedin and Weiner's wedding.
Abedin and Weiner's marriage drew a bit of extra attention at the time because Abedin is Muslim while Weiner is Jewish. Of course, having a former president of the U.S. officiating the wedding also draws a bit of a spotlight, according to CNN.
