Feminist lawyer praises first lady

Feminist lawyer Gloria Allred said first lady Jenny Sanford will have a "life after Mark Sanford" and that "most women would be rooting for her to do well" after her divorce is settled.

She also said Jenny Sanford's example of not standing by her man or appearing beside him as he publicly disclosed his adultery will give strength to other wives facing similar circumstances.

"I would hope that they have always known they had a choice," Allred said Tuesday in Charleston. "But maybe they never saw it as their script. Now they know they have a choice."

Allred, of Los Angeles, was visiting Charleston for a matter she said was confidential and declined to elaborate. She said she is not connected to the Sanford case but agreed to talk about it as an observer.

Jenny Sanford probably followed the course she thought was best in trying to repair a damaged family, Allred said, even as the collapse of her 20-year marriage carried the added burden of playing out in public.

"I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way. It's only whatever the best way is for a woman whose marriage has been in crisis and who has had to suffer secrets of the marriage made public," Allred said.

Jenny Sanford filed for divorce this month on grounds of adultery tied to Mark Sanford's affair with an Argentine woman.

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A final hearing is set for February in Charleston County Family Court. Mark Sanford has not filed an answer.

Allred said a key thing to remember in any marital breakup is that it is the cheater's fault, even as the other partner begins examining their role in how things fell apart.