Mark Sanford’s Ex-Fiancée Surprised by Facebook Breakup Post

When Republican South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford announced the end of his engagement to the Argentine woman with whom he had an affair five years ago, it didn’t just surprise his constituents — it also surprised his now ex-fiancée, María Belén Chapur.

Chapur says she learned about the announcement at the same time the rest of the world did, according to an interview with the New York Times. Though she had asked Sanford to make their breakup public, Chapur says she wasn’t given any warning about the lengthy, 2,346-word Facebook update he posted that discussed the strain his child-custody battle with his ex-wife Jenny Sanford put on their relationship.

“I learned it from the press today,” Chapur told the paper Saturday. She says the relationship fell apart partly over disputes about setting a wedding date and how she did not “want to continue in the category of mistress.” Chapur disagreed with Sanford’s explanation for their split and said that he should not “leave blame on Jenny.”

In 2009, Sanford’s staff infamously claimed the politician, then South Carolina governor, was hiking the Appalachian trail when he went mysteriously absent from office. Sanford later admitted he was visiting Chapur in Argentina.