Judge Cate will grant Sanfords' divorce

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Sanfords' divorce granted

Jenny Sanford appeared in court in Charleston Friday for the dissolution of her 20-year marriage to Gov. Mark Sanford. The divorce will be final in mid-March.

Family Court Judge Jocelyn Cate said Friday she will grant Gov. Mark Sanford and Jenny Sanford a divorce, pending completion of a 90-day period from the date of filing, meaning the divorce will be final in mid-March.

The first lady filed for divorce in December. She said reconciliation efforts were unsuccessful after her husband disappeared for five days last summer. He returned to publicly confess a yearlong affair with the Argentine woman.

The Sanfords' divorce hearing began at 10:50 a.m., 10 minutes before its scheduled start time, and lasted less than 25 minutes.

Plans to televise it live had to be scrubbed because the request arrived Thursday afternoon, not in time to run the necessary cable, Charleston County Clerk of Court Julie Armstrong said.

Gov. Sanford did not attend the proceedings; he was represented by two attorneys. In a statement released minutes after the hearing, he said he stands by the statement he made in December when Jenny filed for divorce. "He reiterates that last point, in asking for prayers for he, Jenny and the boys - and again respectfully asks for privacy on these matters relating to the family," said his spokesman Ben Fox.

Jenny Sanford was the only person to take the witness stand. She testified for less than 10 minutes, briefly recapping the known facts of the governor's infidelity.

She also asked the judge to seal the records in her case, saying that their disclosure would further harm the couple's four boys. The judge said she would take that request under advisement as she considered balancing Jenny Sanford's request for privacy with the public's right to access court documents. Until the judge's decision, the documents are effectively sealed.

The lightest moment in the trial came when the judge asked Jenny Sanford if she was expecting any more children with the governor.

She replied "Oh gosh no."

See our special section on Governor Mark Sanford

Another humorous moment occurred when the judge asked whether the defendant in the case -- Gov. Sanford -- had been a resident of the state of South Carolina three months prior to the filing of this action.

The courtroom was not full; there were about 30 onlookers, mostly media and court employees. The remainder of those in attendance were divorce litigants in the next six uncontested divorce cases the judge was scheduled to hear at 11 a.m.

Sanford is the first sitting South Carolina governor to divorce. In December, he also became the first governor censured by state lawmakers.

Jenny Sanford has written a memoir and is living with the couple's four sons.

She spoke briefly with reporters in the lobby of the judicial center after the hearing and told them that she plans to remain on Sullivan's Island. She said the dissolution of their 20-year marriage is not a cause for celebration.

When asked what's next for her, she replied, "I don't know. We'll see."

Post and Courier reporter Schuyler Kropf contributed to this report.