Absent from Rep. Anthony Weiner’s tearful confession yesterday was his wife, Huma Abedin, who is an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Despite Weiner’s admission that he sent inappropriate messages to six women over the last couple of years (including some while the couple was married), many speculate that Huma will stand by her man.

Here are a few others who stood by their men—and a few who didn’t:

STAYED

Silda Wall Spitzer. Not only did Silda Wall Spitzer stay with former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer after it was revealed he paid high-priced prostitutes for sex—she stood by him at the press conference. She has stayed with Spitzer but has remained private about her husband’s exploits.

Beth Elaine Allen. Bob Allen, the former Florida state congressman, joined a long line of anti-gay politicians who were caught in a super-gay dust-up. Allen’s came in 2007, when he was arrested after offering $20 to an undercover cop to perform fellatio on him. Allen was found guilty and sentenced to six months’ probation. His wife, Beth Elaine, stuck with him.

Hillary Clinton. Though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in her 2007 book that she considered divorce, she never pulled the trigger after then-President Bill Clinton was embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Suzanne Thompson. Idaho Sen. Larry Craig swore up and down that he did nothing inappropriate in a Minnesota airport men’s room. That didn’t stop him from pleading guilty to lewd behavior. Craig’s wife Suzanne Thompson stood by the senator when he made a memorable public statement, apologizing to the press and his constituents for pleading guilty and trying to hide his arrest, and asserting repeatedly that he wasn’t gay—nor had he ever been gay.

Elizabeth Edwards. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, a one-time vice presidential nominee, is generally regarded these days as the worst person ever. OK, fine, among the worst people ever. He cheated on his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth Edwards, lied about it, and then lied about fathering a child with his mistress. The couple was estranged when Elizabeth died last year, but their divorce was never finalized.

LEFT

Dina Matos McGreevey. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey disclosed in 2004 that he had had an affair with a male aide. A well-publicized, nasty divorce followed in the years after.

Maria Shriver. Shortly after former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left office, his wife filed for divorce. It was disclosed days later that he had a 10-year-old love child with a former cleaning lady.

Dawn Gibbons. Former Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was accused in divorce proceedings of cheating on his wife, Dawn, with former Playboy model Leslie Durant. Jim Gibbons was also accused of sexual assault. In his divorce filings, he compared living with his wife to “being locked in a phone booth with an enraged ferret.”

Corina Villaraigosa. In 2007, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had a well-publicized affair with TV reporter Mirthala Salinas. Shortly thereafter, his wife Corina Villaraigosa filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

Marianne Ginther. Around the time he was railing against then-President Bill Clinton for his infidelities, Newt Gingrich, who was speaker of the House, was having an affair with Callista Bisek, a House staffer 23 years his junior. After his divorce from Marianne Ginther, Gingrich married Bisek in 2000.

Honorable mention: Not all political wives wait until a scandal hits to jump ship. Actress Jeri Ryan divorced her husband, Jack Ryan, in 1999. Four years later, divorce papers revealed that Jack Ryan, who was vying for an Illinois U.S. senate seat against Barack Obama, had brought his wife to sex clubs.

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