Huma Abedin Insists Husband Anthony Weiner Deserves (Yet) Another Chance

"Anthony has always been a smart, caring and dedicated person," says the devoted political wife

Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP

As new revelations about her husband’s indiscretions emerge, Huma Abedin, wife of New York City mayoral candidate and former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, says she believes his heart has truly changed as he tries to re-enter political life after a sexting scandal two years ago.

“When people tell me they’re surprised to see me out on the campaign trail, I understand because, trust me, no one is more surprised than I am,” Abedin, 37, writes in September’s Harper’s Bazaar (on newsstands Aug. 20).

“So why am I doing this? Because Anthony has always been a smart, caring and dedicated person, and while he’s the same public servant who wants what’s best for the people he represents, he is now something else – a better man.”

Written before Tuesday’s news conference at which it was confirmed Weiner’s sexually graphic texting continued even after he resigned his U.S. House seat in 2011, Abedin states that New Yorkers must ultimately decide whether her husband is worthy of another chance.

“I had to make that same decision for myself, for my son, for our family,” Abedin writes. “And I know in my heart that I made the right one.”

In a lengthy interview with PEOPLE in July 2012, Weiner said he had put his past behind him and was not certain about his future.

“I’m very happy in my present life,” he told PEOPLE, while Abedin said, “It took a lot of work to get to where are are today, but I want people to know we’re a normal family.”

As was reiterated at Tuesday news conference, Abedin said the couple have spent two years working through the scandal and remain united.

PHOTOS: Life After Scandal: What Happens Next?

Describing herself as a workaholic as she traveled the world with the U.S. State Department, Abedin says her life, too, has changed as a wife and a working mother who is devoted to her family.

In her article, she says that it is partly out of her concern for their son Jordan, now 20 months old, that she supports her husband as he puts himself out for tough public scrutiny to seek election yet again.

“We worry about Jordan s education, his health, his safety. Like all parents, we worry about the future,” she writes. “And in the end, that s why Anthony decided to run for mayor. Launching this campaign was not an easy decision for our family to make. Putting yourself out there comes with a cost.”

In a strongly worded opinion piece appearing in Wednesday’s The New York Times, the newspaper states: “The serially evasive Mr. Weiner should take his marital troubles and personal compulsions out of the public eye, away from cameras, off the Web and out of the race for mayor of New York City.”

• Additional reporting by STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN