Hillary Clinton adviser Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner's wife, now in spotlight

When former U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner admitted two years ago to sending explicit messages and photos to women online, his wife was notably absent, letting Weiner make his public mea culpa alone. But on Tuesday, Huma Abedin was front and center as Weiner confessed to having further explicit exchanges, even after the first scandal forced his resignation from Congress.

Abedin, 36, is no stranger to politics. She has worked for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for years and accompanied her husband on the campaign trail in his current bid for New York City mayor.

She had her first news conference on Tuesday, however, and she admitted to being nervous -- but it was her moment to defend her husband of three years and describe her struggle to forgive him.

Soul-searching Weiner seeks forgiveness

"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." 

Who is Weiner's wife?Abedin and Weiner were married in a ceremony officiated by former President Bill Clinton in July 2010 after being introduced during the 2008 presidential campaign. Their marriage drew extra attention because Abedin is Muslim and Weiner is Jewish.

Weiner admitted in June 2011 that he had sent sexually explicit messages and photos to women online. He apologized for initially claiming they weren't his and said he was seeking treatment, and he resigned from the U.S. House two weeks later.

The couple had a baby boy in December of that year.

On Tuesday, a gossip website published screen shots of sexual conversations that it said Weiner had had with a woman last summer, along with explicit photographs it claimed he had sent.

Opinion: Why does Huma Abedin put up with Weiner?

In his afternoon news conference, Weiner admitted that some of the online exchanges and photographs were his but said some were from before his resignation and some were after.

Abedin said Tuesday she knows her husband made "horrible mistakes" both before and after his resignation from Congress.

"We discussed all of this before he decided to run for mayor, so really what I want to say is, I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward," she said.

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