Patti Blagojevich stands by her man
'I LOVE MY HUSBAND' | Doing TV show to keep daughters in $10,000-a-year school
After enduring a six-month roller coaster that brought her husband -- and family -- into an unwanted national spotlight, former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich says the faith she has in her marriage to indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn't shaken.
"What do they say? Rich or poor, sickness and in health?" Patti Blagojevich said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. "Through thick and thin. You're married. You made a commitment to someone. I love my husband. He's a devoted husband, a great father. He's loyal, hardworking.
(Courtesy NBC)
"I don't see why these circumstances -- which were wholly beyond our control, rained down on us -- would affect our relationship."
Rod Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on sweeping corruption charges that included allegations he tried to sell an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President Obama to the highest bidder.
The former first lady said her world has been turned on its head, so much so that she'll soon be in a Costa Rican jungle, filming the reality TV show, "I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me out of Here," that will air four nights a week. It will require her to complete various tasks to earn food or luxury items -- and to hang out with the likes of "The Hills" stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, former supermodel Janice Dickinson and actor Stephen Baldwin.
"There's no ordinary circumstances [in which] I would ever consider this," she said.
Blagojevich, the daughter of powerful 33rd Ward Ald. Dick Mell, said she's doing it -- albeit with trepidation -- for her children.
She said she could not land a regular job now, both because of the economy and the attention she would bring to any employer.
"It's harder when you've gotten notoriety attached to you," she said of finding a regular job. "The first thing that an employer does is Google you, right?"
She said she looks at the show as just another paying job. Details of her contract with NBC have not been revealed. But the prime-time show had offered her husband as much as $123,000 to do it -- an offer the judge in his case forced him to decline.
Patti Blagojevich was fired from her fund-raising job with the Chicago Christian Industrial League in January. Later that month, the Illinois Legislature found Rod Blagojevich unfit and booted him from the governor's office.
Sources say that the Blagojevich household faced a mountain of credit-card bills even before the two were unemployed, in part because of Rod Blagojevich's penchant for pricey suits. Their Ravenswood Manor home, as well as their condo in Washington, D.C., face government forfeiture.
"The big challenge is keeping things as normal for them as possible" for their two daughters, Patti Blagojevich said. "That's why I'm doing the show. We're going to try as hard as we can to keep them in the same school they've been in since they were toddlers, to keep that kind of stability in their lives. That's why I would consider anything like that."
The girls attend the private Rogers Park Montessori school, where tuition is more than $10,000 a year.
Patti Blagojevich hasn't been charged with any crime. But she has been under scrutiny for years. She would not answer questions about real estate dealings with convicted businessman Tony Rezko that are mentioned in her husband's indictment. She was subpoenaed by federal authorities last November. Her lawyer has said she complied with investigators, turning over calendars, notes and other items.
On Dec. 9, she learned her home phone had been tapped by FBI agents. She was caught cussing on recordings, leading to her portrayal as a foul-mouthed Lady Macbeth.
"The government -- they published transcripts on the tape, one isolated conversation where I said one swear word because I was angry that someone was treating my husband badly," she said. "That was a private conversation that took place in my own home. It's the media that took it and ran with it."
Asked whether she fears she still could face charges, Patti Blagojevich said: "When you trust in the truth, that's all you can do."