Rudy's son: 'I got my values from my mother'
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL and ADAM LISBERG
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
nydailynews.com
Rudy Giuliani's son seems to think his dad would make a better President than he did a father.
"I got my values from my mother," 21-year-old Andrew Giuliani told ABC in an interview quoted on "Good Morning America" yesterday, the same day the Daily News spotlighted the rift between the former mayor and his only son.
"She's a strong influence in my life," Andrew Giuliani said of his mother, Donna Hanover, seemingly drawing a contrast between her and Rudy Giuliani. "She's a strong woman."
Andrew's outspoken comments came after more than a year of frosty relations between the Duke University student and his father. Insiders say Giuliani has increasingly chosen to spend time with third wife Judith Nathan rather than Andrew and daughter Caroline, 18.
Giuliani has missed some of Andrew's big golf tournaments and Caroline's school productions, sources told The News, even while Judith is constantly by his side in his presidential campaign.
"I have problems with my father," Andrew told ABC. "But it doesn't mean he won't make a great President."
While Andrew stressed he still loves his father and said "we are both working on our relationship," his comments are a sharp reminder of the outrageous marital soap opera that accompanied Giuliani's estrangement and divorce from second wife Hanover - which came after he and Nathan made a public show of their growing love affair.
New Yorkers grew used to their mayor's personal saga, and accepted his pro-choice and gay-friendly views - as well as his occasional public appearance in drag.
But that reputation may play far differently in Republican primary states such as South Carolina.
Giuliani's team declined to comment yesterday, as did Hanover. But Giuliani insiders expect he will be forced to address his son's comments at a California appearance today with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Experts on family relationships said yesterday that the strained relationship between Rudy and Andrew Giuliani is sadly common in stepfamilies after difficult divorces - especially when children aren't insulated from their parents' differences.
"This whole divorce was played out in the media," said celebrity psychotherapist Dr. Gilda Carle. "The kids were once again in the middle, and they saw how violated the mother felt. Donna was obviously feeling great pain, and children see this, and they feel sympathy for the mother."
Therapist and writer Peter Gerlach agreed that Giuliani's high profile only makes it harder for Andrew to recover from the trauma of his parents' divorce.
"Usually, kids in a situation like that ally themselves with one parent or another," Gerlach said. "I wonder if he feels ignored by his father and his father's new woman, as he watches them on the national stage."
Originally published on March 5, 2007 |
