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[[Image:Newt Callista.jpg|thumb|Newt and Callista]]

[[Image:Newt Callista.jpg|thumb|Newt and Callista]]

Gingrich was born into a single-parent household with his mother, after his biological father abandoned the family. Robert Gingrich, a retired army officer, married Gingrich's mother and adopted him. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/21/us/robert-b-gingrich-speaker-s-father-71.html</ref> He has been married three times. His first wife, Jackie Battley, was his geometry teacher while he was in high school. They began their relationship when he was 16 years old, and married in 1962 after he graduated.<ref name="poli">[http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/House/Georgia/Newt_Gingrich/Scandals/Marital_Affairs/ Newt Gingrich: Marital Affairs] poligu.com, retrieved January 22, 2012.</ref> The couple had two daughters, and divorced in 1981.  Liberal and mainstream media sources have perpetuated a myth for years Jackie was served with divorce papers "on her deatbed," however, she is very much alive.

Gingrich was born into a single-parent household with his mother, after his biological father abandoned the family. Robert Gingrich, a retired army officer, married Gingrich's mother and adopted him. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/21/us/robert-b-gingrich-speaker-s-father-71.html</ref> He has been married three times. His first wife, Jackie Battley, was his geometry teacher while he was in high school. They began their relationship when he was 16 years old, and married in 1962 after he graduated.<ref name="poli">[http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/House/Georgia/Newt_Gingrich/Scandals/Marital_Affairs/ Newt Gingrich: Marital Affairs] poligu.com, retrieved January 22, 2012.</ref> The couple had two daughters, and divorced in 1981.  [[Liberal]] and [[mainstream media]] sources have perpetuated a myth for decades Jackie was served with divorce papers "on her deatbed," however, she is very much alive. Only in December, 2011, did FactCheck.org research and correct some of the smears.<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/2011/12/the-gingrich-divorce-myth/</ref>

Gingrich married Ginther in 1981. The couple separated in 1988, reconciled in 1994, and later divorced in 1999. In response to inquiries Gingrich publicly admitted to having an extra-marital relationship. "The honest answer is yes," Gingrich said in an interview with [[Focus on the Family]] founder [[James Dobson]]. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards." Gingrich contrasted owning up to his shortcomings with [[President Clinton]]'s perjury and criminal offenses, "''The President of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge''," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and [[obstruction of justice]] charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials." <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1597666,00.html?cnn=yes]</ref>

Gingrich married Ginther in 1981. The couple separated in 1988, reconciled in 1994, and later divorced in 1999. In response to inquiries Gingrich publicly admitted to having an extra-marital relationship. "The honest answer is yes," Gingrich said in an interview with [[Focus on the Family]] founder [[James Dobson]]. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards." Gingrich contrasted owning up to his shortcomings with [[President Clinton]]'s perjury and criminal offenses, "''The President of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge''," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and [[obstruction of justice]] charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials." <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1597666,00.html?cnn=yes]</ref>