The September issue of Esquire features an interview with Marianne Ginther, the second wife of perennial Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich. The two were married for more than 18 years, as were Gingrich and his first wife, Jackie Battley. The Ginther and Battley unions each lasted nearly twice as long as his third and current marriage, to former congressional aide Callista Bisek, with whom Gingrich had been having an affair while still married to Ginther. Actually, in a uncomfortable twist, Gingrich first courted Ginther while still married to Battley. If you’re confused, that’s because it’s confusing. For a helpful gloss to the former Speaker of the House’s matrimonial ecstasy and agony, consult our complete guide to Gingrich’s wives.

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The betrothed: Jackie Battley

• Dates of marriage: 1962 to 1980.

• The meet-cute: Gingrich was a high school student when he met Battley, who, at the time, happened to be his geometry teacher. He says that when they started dating he was 18 and she was 25, although Ginther insists that Gingrich was just 16 at the time the teacher-student courtship commenced.

• How it all ends: According to Esquire, Gingrich “went to the hospital to present [Battley] with divorce terms while she was recovering from uterine cancer and then fought the case so hard, Jackie had to get a court order just to pay her utility bills.”

The betrothed: Marianne Ginther

• Dates of marriage: 1981 to 1999.

• The meet-cute: Ginther, the daughter of an Ohio mayor, met Gingrich at a political fundraiser. According to Esquire, Ginther “told him about the local economic decline, he said somebody needed to save the country. She said that he couldn't do it alone, he asked about her plans for the future.” They were married six months after Gingrich divorced Battley.

• How it all ends: (See: “Callista Bisek”)

The betrothed: Callista Bisek

• Dates of marriage: 2000 to present.

• The meet-cute: Bisek carried on a six-year affair with Gingrich while he was married to Battley and publicly flagellating President Clinton for his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. According to Salon, Gingrich and the former Hill staffer (23 years his junior, mind you) would frequently dine in the Supreme Court cafeteria—an unsuspectingly sordid detail. (In 1995, Vanity Fair referred to Bisek as Gingrich’s “frequent breakfast companion.”) Gingrich stepped down from Congress in 1998 following an ethics scandal, among other things. The two were married two years later.

• How it all ends: Unknown at press time.