(CNN) -- Sharp-witted. Direct. In control. Loyal.



Jenny Sanford, here with her husband, was a Wall Street executive before she married Mark Sanford.



That's how friends describe Jenny Sanford, the wife of Gov. Mark Sanford, who confessed to the nation in a rambling news conference that he was having an affair with a woman in Argentina.



Jenny Sanford, unlike so many wives of cheating politicians, was not there facing the cameras, standing beside her husband.



A reporter asked the governor if he and his wife of 20 years were separated.



"I'm here, and she's there," he replied.



As romantic e-mails between her husband and his mistress were published by a local newspaper Thursday, the state's first lady, a former Wall Street executive, stayed far away from reporters. She was at the family's home on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina with her four sons and a few friends.



"Don't you know that is what Jenny Sanford is about? That is what is authentic about Jenny Sanford. She is not going to humiliate herself by standing next to a story," said Cyndi Mosteller, a friend of the Sanfords since 1992 and the former first vice chairwoman of the South Carolina GOP.



"She will stand next to Mark emotionally, but she cannot stand in the glare of others," Mosteller continued. "She is out there taking a dignified road, one that is defined by principle, even if her heart might have difficulty following that principle. But her overriding priority is to protect her children."



Jenny Sanford released a lengthy statement late Wednesday making clear she had learned of her husband's infidelity before his recent secret trip to Buenos Aires. His whereabouts were a mystery for six days, leaving his family in the dark and creating a power vacuum and considerable confusion in the Capitol, with aides telling reporters he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.



"When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage," she wrote. "We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.



"This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure."



Mosteller's brother-in-law was with Jenny Sanford on Thursday as the e-mails penned to "Maria" became public. The messages from Mark Sanfordcompliment the woman on her "tan lines" and "gentle kisses."



The e-mails were published by The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina's capital, which said the governor's office confirmed they are authentic. When contacted by CNN, the governor's office would neither confirm nor deny their authenticity.



"[The e-mails] are almost like reading a novel that you would embarrassed to buy," Mosteller said. "To be one of his four children and know that is there for the world to see, it is incredible to all of us."



Jenny Sanford grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, and earned a degree in finance from Georgetown University. She met Mark Sanford when they worked for investment firms in New York, she at Lazard Freres and he at Goldman Sachs. The two married and moved to his native South Carolina, and she managed his campaign for Congress in 1994.



"Mark started out with five other opponents, and he didn't really have a shot. That was the opinion of most people," Mosteller said. "But she and Mark worked together and turned that thing around so that candidate three, four and five ended up throwing their support behind him, and he won.
Who ran his political campaigns? who is Jenny Sanford? What is he avoiding? Who is avoiding media? What was called "novel that you would be embarrassed to buy"? What were the e-mails called?
Jenny Sanford the wife of Gov. Mark public exposure." Jenny Sanford, "[The e-mails] romantic
question: Who ran his political campaigns?, answer: Jenny Sanford | question: who is Jenny Sanford?, answer: the wife of Gov. Mark | question: What is he avoiding?, answer: public exposure." | question: Who is avoiding media?, answer: Jenny Sanford, | question: What was called "novel that you would be embarrassed to buy"?, answer: "[The e-mails] | question: What were the e-mails called?, answer: romantic