Huma Abedin Says Son Jordan, 10, Has 'Learned Some Hard Truths' About Her and Anthony Weiner

Huma Abedin WSJ Wall Street Journal Magazine
Huma Abedin WSJ Wall Street Journal Magazine
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Jingyu Lin for WSJ. Magazine

Huma Abedin is opening up about how she and Anthony Weiner approach co-parenting.

Speaking with WSJ. Magazine about her memoir Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds, the political staffer, 46, says that her and the former politician's son, Jordan, has "learned some hard truths about his parents and their public lives."

Noting that Jordan, now 10, was just 7 when his father went to prison in 2017 for sexting with a minor, Abedin says that her son has tackled the complex situation with "maturity."

"I'm really proud of him. When Anthony had to go away and Jordan was 7, I had so much anger and resentment towards his dad," she admits.

Abedin explains how she tried to handle the "shame upon shame" of the situation by "taking my son on adventures to distract him," leading to six months of traveling around the world, until a moment on Christmas changed her perspective.

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Huma Abedin WSJ Wall Street Journal Magazine
Huma Abedin WSJ Wall Street Journal Magazine

Jingyu Lin for WSJ. Magazine

"We ended up in Hawaii for Christmas, and we met a little boy on the beach. It's the end of a very long night. We go to dinner with his family, and the boy stands up and puts his hands up towards his father so his daddy picks him up," she recalled. "My little boy looks at this scene and breaks down and says, 'I want my daddy, I want my daddy!' "

"That was my lightbulb moment," Abedin notes. "That was the day I decided I would not be ashamed about where my son would have to go to see his father. I took him to see his dad [in prison], and he was giddy and was so excited."

Weiner was released from prison in 2019, at which time he and Abedin "made a decision that there were going to be no secrets in this family."

Noting that Jordan is getting older, the co-parents decided "that we would always be sources of truth for him, that we wanted him to learn from us before learning something on social media or through his friends."

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Huma Abedin
Huma Abedin

Courtesy of Opal Vadhan From left: Huma Abedin with her son, Jordan

Centering Jordan has brought her and Weiner back to an amicable place. "He was my best friend before we became anything else, and we will always have this connection because we'll always be a family."

Abedin has reportedly kept her ex in mind as she pursues dating, a source told PEOPLE earlier this summer when discussing her rumored romance with actor Bradley Cooper — who is also a dad, to 5-year-old daughter Lea De Seine with ex Irina Shayk.

"They both want to keep good relationships with their former partners because of the kids," the insider shared at the time.

"They are both serious-minded people dedicated to their work and doing the right thing," another political source added. "Huma is smart and a straight-shooter. They make an interesting pair."