Excerpts from the upcoming memoir written by Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle appeared on People magazine’s website on Wednesday.
The book, “If We Break” publishes on June 14. Buhle, who was married to Hunter Biden for 24 years, told People in an interview if she is questioned about his business affairs as part of the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into his businesses, she feels she would not be consequential.
“Whether or not I’m questioned, I couldn’t be of any help. I kept my head so deeply buried in the sand on our finances,” said Buhle.
The couple divorced in 2017. Buhle says she does not receive alimony from Hunter Biden. As for her current relationship with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Buhle says things have changed since her divorce, and now the focus is on her three daughters. “We were all really close and it was painful. It was hard for a long time,” she said.
Neither the White House nor a lawyer for Hunter Biden immediately responded to CNN requests for comment on Buhle’s book and the excerpts released Wednesday.
In various excerpts about Hunter Biden from her book, Buhle discusses the tenuous state of their finances when the two were married.
“He started many ventures … a real estate investment fund and then a technology company. I didn’t understand any of it, or what pieces of his businesses actually generated income for us. I worried that we lived above our means, but I did nothing to change it. The way that Hunter and I handled money was that whenever I needed any, I called Hunter. More than once my debit card was declined at a store. I’d have to call Hunter to transfer money into my account. Hunter and I drove nice cars and had a beautiful home, but we were running fast on that hamster wheel and barely staying on,” writes Buhle.
In another excerpt, Buhle says after Beau Biden’s death from brain cancer in 2015, Hunter Biden’s addiction and compulsive behavior spiraled.
“In the fall of 2015, I called and texted Hunter compulsively. From my computer, I watched his every move. There were charges at Lake Tahoe at a nail salon and a charge for two lift tickets. I found a credit card charge for $10,000 at a hot tub store in Los Angeles. I found hundreds at liquor stores and strip clubs. The whole time, he told me he was healthy and sober – and I was crazy. I continually told him that I was the one person actually trying to get him sober. It became my own kind of addiction. I didn’t want to admit, to myself or anyone else, how unhealthy our relationship had become, so my struggle was just one more secret,” she writes.
Buhle said Hunter Biden started to spend more time in Delaware with Beau Biden’s widow, Hallie Biden, and her two children.
“After the funeral, I saw a purpose in Hunter’s work to set up the Beau Biden Foundation with Hallie and his parents. But he started spending most of his time at Hallie’s house. Our therapist told me Hunter needed to be up there, helping Hallie. ‘But what about his sobriety?’ I asked her. ‘He needs routine. He needs to be home with us.’ (The therapist) held firm that being with Hallie and her kids was an important part of Hunter’s grieving.”
In November 2016, Buhle learned of the affair Hunter Biden was having with Hallie Biden, his brother’s widow and Kathleen’s sister-in-law. Buhle details how she found out via her daughters, who had discovered the relationship by seeing text messages on their father’s phone.
In 2019, Buhle changed her married name back to her maiden name.
“In many ways, my last name became a crown and shield to me; it wasn’t easy to consider giving it up. Changing my name had been as frightening as anything I’d ever done before. I was no longer a Biden.”
Buhle resides in Washington, DC, where she works developing a non-profit that supports women.
