Former Gov Mark Sanford to wed Argentinean girlfriend

They may not spend their honeymoon "hiking the Appalachian Trail" but former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his Argentinean girlfriend Maria Belen Chapur are getting married. 

Sanford and his ex-mistress confirmed their engagement to CNN. "Yes, we are engaged, and I’m both happy and excited for what that means,” Sanford said.

“I have long expressed my feelings for her, she’s a wonderful person. My closest friends have met and love her, and I look forward to introducing her to still many more that have yet to do so."

Sanford's political career was ruined after it emerged he was having an affair with Chapur. He famously disappeared for five days and his office said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, which became a euphamism for sneaking away to see a mistress. 

The one-time Republican rising star admitted during a tearful news conference that he was in Buenos Aires with Chapur, whom he called his "soul mate", reports USA Today. 

Sanford's wife Jenny moved out of the governors mansion with their four sons and divorced him less than a year later.

Argentinean media reports that Sanford proposed to Chapur at the Bella Italia Grill in Buenos Aires, reports the Daily Mail. The newspaper reports that Sanford arrived at the restaurant early and gave their waiter the engagement ring in a bag. He then hid in the bathroom to surprise Chapur after the waiter told her she had won a prize for being the restaurant's 100th customer of the day.