Governor McGreevey Says Wife Knew He Was Gay

Former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey says his wife Dina Matos-McGreevey knew he was gay before they married, a full four years before he came out of the closet during a news conference where he also stepped down as governor.

New York Daily News yesterday published passages from Matos-McGreevey's forthcoming memoir Silent Partner where she claims that she was convinced her husband was straight.

To counter these claims, Jim McGreevey yesterday filed court papers swearing to the opposite, "Although it is clear that [Matos McGreevey] knew of my sexual orientation before our marriage, she chose to either ignore it or block it out of her mind, even when questioned by her friends"

The former governor doesn't detail how she knew he was gay, but objects to his wife's contention in recent court papers that he is bisexual, "Now that it's out that I AM A GAY AMERICAN [the words he used in his resignation speech in 2004], she will try to rewrite history claiming me to be bisexual. This is homophobia in its worst form."

In the filing, Jim McGreevey also defends his parenting skills, saying that he despite the demands of being governor never was "indifferent" to their 5-year-old daughter, as his estranged wife claims.

claimed in court papers last week that her ex-husband exposed their young daughter to a nude male photograph hanging on the wall in the bedroom he shares with partner Mark O'Donnell, an Australian money manager.

In Monday's filing Jim McGreevey countered that his wife never has seen the photograph.

Matos McGreevey is seeking primary custody of their child.