Scandal has erupted in Tennessee after the Mayor of Nashville recently admitted to an extramarital affair with her Metro Police bodyguard.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry admitted to the adulterous tryst on Wednesday, which involved Metro Police Sergeant Robert Forrest, Jr.
“I’m embarrassed, and I am sad, and I am so sorry for all the pain that I have caused my family and his family,” she said. “I know that God will forgive me, but that Nashville doesn’t have to…I hope that I can earn your trust back and that you will forgive me.”
Barry has affirmed that she will not resign or take leave over the affair, claiming that while she made a “mistake,” the incident is not a “tragedy.”
According to NPR, the affair began in 2016 and ended at an undisclosed time. However, Sergeant Forrest retired from NMPD in January of this year.
Creating a murky line between business and pleasure, the lovers reportedly racked up around $33,000 in travel expenses, including such exotic locations as Paris, Athens, Salt Lake City and New York. Last year alone, Forrest earned over $50,000 in overtime.
However, Barry denies claims that taxpayer money was improperly used.
“I’ve had a very aggressive schedule, I’m out in the community, and that’s reflected with the overtime that has been billed to my detail,” Barry said. “The police set the policy for the kind of detail coverage that a mayor gets, and I have been the recipient of that. I have taken trips that have included detail and those trips have always been for business.”
Barry had previously been featured in headlines last summer after her 22-year-old son died of a drug overdose.
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