UPDATED 3:45 p.m. ET
***** Lauer: When I watched Rielle Hunter on Oprah Winfrey, you know what I kept thinking? Edwards: What's that? Lauer: I wonder if Elizabeth is watching this. Edwards: I actually watched it later. I didn't watch it then. And I-- and I didn't watch the whole thing. But I did watch some of it. And it's impossible not to-- I'm ... Lauer: Curiosity alone. Edwards: Curiosity. And also, I-- you know, I know I'm going to get asked questions about it. And at first, I didn't watch it. And then I thought, "Well, that's silly." Lauer: What did you think? Edwards: I still think this person is so completely unlike me that it's hard to imagine the same person could marry me and be attracted to that-- to that woman, as well.
***** Lauer: I remember the last time you and I sat down, you said to me something that caught my attention. You said, "Despite this big horrible thing that happened, I still look back and think I married a marvelous man." And that was before you knew the whole truth. Do you still feel that way? Edwards: Well-- I think-- I think I did marry a marvelous man. I think that-- that he changed over time. And-- and it could not be more clear to me then. You know, I think it was sort of hard for me to see it or admit it for a very long time. But he changed. Maybe we all change over time. And-- and he's no longer the person who I married. I still admire an enormous number of things about him. The things he cares about are things I think are important.
***** Lauer: You write in the book that you would love eight more years. Edwards: I would. Lauer: That you would like to be there for Emma Claire and Jack in the same way you were there for Wade when he was alive and Cate, when she was at that age. What are your biggest fears about the potential of not being there? Edwards: I-- I just-- I don't let my head go that place. I think that you really have to-- you know, you just have to keep what you want in view always. And what I want is this. And if I start thinking about, "Well, what if it's not?" Then I might make the wrong-- I hope I would make the right decisions, but I'm not positive I would. I think there might be a panic, because you think you're getting close to the end. I want to live at a normal cadence with my children. Lauer: And you end the book this way. Quote, "In the end, there is peace. If we are strong. If we are resilient. If we are stubborn and filled with hope. If we know how to love. There is peace before that, too. And honestly, that is enough." So, at this moment have you found some portion of peace in your life? Edwards: I have, I mean, I really feel I have. I still really feel I need to break free of the media imposed image. I'm not just a cuckolded wife. You know, I think about it because so many stories have been in the news recently. But I think about Sandra Bullock-- who I don't know at all-- what an incredible year she's had. She won the Academy Award for an incredible performance, and more than that, she took that story and integrated that into her own life in this healthy happy way. And yet, the stories you hear are not about all those great successes, but about the failure of her marriage. And I thought that's not who she is, and in a sense I know she, I don't know her, but I assume she wants to reclaim who she is in the same way I want to reclaim who I am. I hope the next time I am on television it's to talk about some policy I really care about. Watch the full interview Wednesday morning on TODAY.