Nikki Haley Allegedly Cheated On Her Husband With Two Men Before Becoming SC Governor: Report

Nikki Haley, once a 2024 presidential hopeful, allegedly committed infidelity, as claimed by multiple sources, before she took the gubernatorial office. Affidavits and witnesses told the Daily Mail that the former South Carolina governor engaged in two extramarital affairs and cheated on husband Michael Haley in 2008. However, the politician previously denied these reports. 

The 52-year-old had to face a new controversy around her at a time when her presidential campaign was in full swing, especially after the Republican candidates—like Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis exited the race—to face off against her party rival and GOP front-runner Donald Trump, in the upcoming elections. 

As per the sources, the former UN ambassador was accused of infidelity back in 2008. People who worked with the politician said her denial was, in fact, a lie. Two men, 49-year-old Will Folks and 61-year-old Larry Marchant, signed affidavits in 2010 alleging they had sexual relations with Nikki. 

News outlets covered the documents at the time, but this is the first time the affidavit has been published, accusing Haley of having affairs more than 15 years ago. However, the former governor denied these claims back in 2008, saying she was '100% faithful' to her husband of 28 years, Michael Haley. In 2010, the South Carolina gubernatorial candidate blew off reports of claims by lobbyist Marchant, who said he had a one-night stand with Haley during a 2008 trip to Salt Lake City for a conference on school choice. At the time, Marchant worked for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, her rival in the Republican Primary. 

Back in 2010, Nikki's spokesman, Tim Pearson, told Politico, "This is a false and outrageous desperate attack from a losing candidate's paid campaign consultant in the final week of the race. As Nikki Haley rises in the polls, the good old boys in Columbia see their taxpayer-funded fraternity party coming crumbling down, and they will say or do anything to hold on to their power." Pearson added, "This is South Carolina politics at its worst. The people of our state deserve better, and when Nikki Haley is governor, they'll get it." Another man named Folks claimed ten days before Marchant that he also had an 'inappropriate physical relationship' with Nikki. 

Multiple GOP insiders further cemented these claims that they closely witnessed Nikki's questionable moments, including sexually aroused encounters at the back of her Cadillac SUV, 'canoodling in her lovers' laps at bars, and spending nights with men in her South Carolina duplex. 

The former governor's ex-staff revealed, "When she was having the affairs, she and her husband were having a lot of problems and were on the verge of divorce. There's no question she and Will were having an affair." Another source added, "A lot of people saw her sitting on laps, wrapped arm in arm. I saw her myself when she was sitting on Larry's lap." Nikki and her husband have been married since 1996, and she wrote in her 2012 memoir Can't Is Not an Option: My American Story, "I would be lost without him." 

This article originally appeared on 1.24.24