--- title: Mark Sanford Fiancée María Belén Chapur Surprised by Facebook Breakup description: María Belén Chapur learned about South Carolina politician's Facebook breakup post the same way the rest of us did canonical: https://time.com/3372356/mark-sanford-maria-belen-chapur-facebook-breakup/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-14T14:17:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:10:19.467Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mark Sanford's Fiancée Surprised by Facebook Breakup Post og:description: His former mistress says she was caught off guard og:url: https://time.com/3372356/mark-sanford-maria-belen-chapur-facebook-breakup/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7818a5b0ed8f8993/6986a338cd804dca13cccbea/mark-sanford.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2918 og:image:height: 1641 og:image:alt: U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., discusses his first months back in Congress during an Associated Press interview in his district office in Mount Pleasant, S.C. on Dec. 18, 2013. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mark Sanford's Fiancée Surprised by Facebook Breakup Post twitter:description: His former mistress says she was caught off guard twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7818a5b0ed8f8993/6986a338cd804dca13cccbea/mark-sanford.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mark Sanford's Ex-Fiancée Surprised by Facebook Breakup Post > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Sep 14, 2014 2:17 PM UTC  Congressman Mark Sanford discusses his first months back in Congress during an interview in his district office in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on Dec. 18, 2013 Congressman Mark Sanford discusses his first months back in Congress during an interview in his district office in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on Dec. 18, 2013 Bruce Smith—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Sep 14, 2014 2:17 PM UTC When Republican South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford [announced the end of his engagement](http://time.com/3361581/congressman-mark-sanford-breaks-engagement-to-argentine-fiancee/) 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](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/us/mark-sanford-mistress-affair-engagement.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSumSmallMediaHigh&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=3&referrer=), 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. 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