Apparently with Barbara Walters there is a statute of limitation on secrecy if it means more book sales. And so it is that former U.S. Senator Edward Brooke’s Wikipedia entry has been edited today to let the reader know of Barbara Walters’ revelation of a previously secret affair in the 1970s.

After three decades of keeping mum, Barbara Walters is disclosing a past affair with married U.S. Senator Edward Brooke, whom she remembers as “exciting” and “brilliant.”

Senator Edward Brooke in 1973

Senator Edward W. Brooke in 1973 - Photo Credit: Jim Cole

Appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” scheduled to air Tuesday, Walters shares details of her relationship with Brooke that lasted several years in the 1970s, according to a transcript of the show provided to The Associated Press.

A moderate Republican from Massachusetts who took office in 1967, Brooke was the first African-American to be popularly elected to the Senate. Both he and Walters knew that public knowledge of their affair could have ruined his career as well as hers, Walters says.

At the time, the twice-divorced Walters was a rising star in TV news and co-host of NBC’s TODAY show, but would soon jump to ABC News, where she has enjoyed unrivaled success. Her affair with Brooke, which never before came to light, had ended before he lost his bid for a third term in 1978.

[…]

Winfrey asks Walters if she was in love.

“I was certainly — I don’t know — I was certainly infatuated.”

“Infatuated.”

“I was certainly involved,” Walters says. “He was exciting. He was brilliant. It was exciting times in Washington.”

Source: Barbara Walters reveals affair with senator

Former U.S. Senator Edward Brook with President George W. Bush, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Photo credit: White House
Edward Brooke receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 as President George W. Bush congratulates him

It is a strange and unexpected way for former Senator Edward Brooke to find himself in the limelight again. For those who never never heard of him, he was the first black U.S. Senator, since the Reconstruction Era, serving from 1967-1979. We suspect he prefers to be remembered for that than for this.

More about Barbara Walter’s new memoir, Audition:

  • Barbara Walters On Reasoner, Safer, Money

    • Audition: A Memoir