Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: Candy Edwards: life without EWE; Edwin's bride starts over with

Candy Edwards didn't want to get out of bed on her 38th birthday. Life wasn't making sense. It wasn't her age triggering the emotions--she knows that's inevitable. It was the fact that in less than a week her husband would be behind bars.

"I woke up depressed and I just didn't want to do anything. I barely came down," she said. Canceling this interview was on her mind all morning, she said, "but a commitment was made."

Facing each new day has been a challenge for all members of the Edwards family lately. Edwin Edwards' tumultuous final term as governor gave birth to Louisiana's gambling industry, but it also led to a series of high-profile trials that finally put one of the bayou's brightest politicians in jail this week for a 10-year term.

Candy says she never thought Edwin's last day of freedom would come, but it has, leaving her to face major changes alone. Among them: her monthly income will arrive in stipends man-aged by one of Edwin Edwards' daughters; a female roommate is moving into their Country Club of Louisiana home to share expenses; and Candy plans to go to work in a couple of months.

Starting over

By the time this issue hits newsstands, the former governor will already be acquainted with his cell and fellow inmates in Fort Worth, Texas. Candy, on the other hand, will be preparing for the arrival of a new roommate in the couple's Country Club of Louisiana home.

"A girlfriend is moving in at the end of the month, and she'll be paying rent. It should help out quite a bit," she said last week.

It's hard to determine how tight finances will be for Candy Edwards in the near future. A predetermined monthly allowance, which Candy would not reveal, will be provided to her by Anna Edwards, one of Edwards' daughters who holds her father's power of attorney.

"My husband has always, and is going to, provide for me. But he needs to save as much as he can because he has to continue the battle. It's not over yet because the (U.S.) Supreme Court still has to say what they have to say, Candy said.

Candy, who held jobs in nursing and at a law firm in years past, said she will likely go to work early next year.

"I will always keep my nursing license active. And yes, (getting a job) has been on my mind a lot lately. But I don't know if I will go back into nursing. I want to go into pharmaceutical sales because it's a good field for women. Plus, with a nursing background, I feel I already have a foot in the door.

"I'm going to have an income. I guess you can say I don't have to work, but I'll have enough to pay the bills. I don't want to be a burden financially."

Her parents, who live in Gonzales, run a lumber company and her brothers have a construction business. She also could go to work there, she says.

Keeping the house

Keeping the family home is also high on the list for Candy--hence her talk of a roommate and a new job. After abandoning their $1.3 million "dream house," in Country Club of Louisiana following a federal raid in 1997, Candy is extra cautious.

"We should be able to keep the (new) house for the time being," she said.

The current two-story home, also in CCLA, has a rural feel befitting a former populist governor. Overstuffed chairs and Cajun relics freckle the floor plan. Place mats emblazoned with roosters cover the kitchen table and a set of winding hallways leads to two outdoor patio areas, one complete with a bubbling fountain and ivy-covered wall.

One of the biggest financial challenges for the Edwards family is already behind them, Candy says. That was paying the extensive legal bills incurred during Edwards' trials.

"Thank God Edwin has been conservative all his life. He's not a spendthrift. He doesn't like to spend a lot of money. He'll buy a boat or a motor home, but day-to-day, he doesn't want to buy things just because we can. He had to sell off bonds and do all that because (his legal defense) was all extremely expensive. He dipped into his retirement savings, too," she said.

Candy says her husband began his legal ordeal with about $4 million in his retirement account. Today, it has dwindled to roughly $1.8 million, "which is now frozen."

According to Candy, all of Edwin Edwards' debts have been paid in full.

"Everything is current. Edwin does not like to owe anybody. Fines. Legal bills. Everything is current ... he doesn't even like to owe casinos."

Candy readily admits her husband was a high roller.

"He doesn't gamble for fun. He gambles for money. And we only go to the casinos once or maybe twice a year for family vacations. He plays craps or a little blackjack. Edwin doesn't play slots or anything like that. He thinks it's a bad bet," she said.

His other investments were conservative, Candy says, "and he has passed that on to me. Like, he didn't get into the stock market when it was really great. He always liked, and has been into, municipal triple-tax bonds, which are a very conservative investment," she said.

Life without Edwin

To say life will be different for Candy Edwards is an understatement.

Edwin won't be around to make her favorite roasts and steaks. He won't be around to do "the man things" or take care of the family's bills, she said.

"I will be doing everything on my own now. Edwin told me how to run the generator the other day. He taught me how to turn the water off when it freezes. I'll be getting the oil changed in the vehicles. I'll be paying the insurance and taxes, too."

And then there's the ever-present question of children.

"We have not been successful trying to have a baby," Candy says. "We thought the U.S. Fifth Circuit decision would be positive and we would be able to go forward with in vitro fertilization. We didn't get there ... but we do have frozen sperm. I've thought a lot about that. It would be hard doing it by myself, but we'll see," she said.

As Candy Edwards looks to the future, she doesn't want to remarry. She is happy being the bride of the former governor.

"As long as Edwin Edwards is alive, that's where my heart is. With all that's going on in our lives, he thinks there's no way I'm going to wait for him. That I'm young. But I am Edwin Edwards' wife and I am going to stick by him. I can't see it any other way."