Background
Matos, Dina was born on November 5, 1966 in Cantanhede, Portugal. Daughter of Ricardo and Maria Matos.
( The truth behind the lies. It was an unforgettable scen...)
The truth behind the lies. It was an unforgettable scene. Dina Matos McGreevey, an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, wife, mother, and First Lady of the state of New Jersey, watched silently as her husband, then New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, resigned his office with the revelation that he was a "gay American." The picture of grace and loyalty, perfectly composed in her pale blue suit, Dina Matos McGreevey gave no sign of the tangled mixture of fear, sorrow, and anger she felt that day, no hint of the devastation that was to come. Since then she has been asked repeatedly about the nature of her marriage, about what she knew and when she knew it. Since then, she has remained silent. Until now. Speaking up at last, Dina Matos McGreevey here recounts the details of her marriage to Jim McGreevey. What emerges is a tale of love and betrayal, of heartbreak and scandal . . . and, ultimately, hope. It all began with so much promise. Dina Matos was a responsible and civic-minded young woman who fell in love with the passion of political action. When Jim McGreevey walked into her life, he appeared to be a kind and loving man, someone with whom she could build a life based on shared ideals, a strong spiritual commitment, and a desire to make a difference in the world. Beyond their initial chemistry, Dina Matos was attracted by Jim McGreevey's principles and his unwavering devotion to his work. She didn't know that his life, and thus their marriage, were built on a foundation of lies; that his past was littered with casual sexual encounters in seedy bookstores and public parks; or that, by his own admission, he began an adulterous affair with another man while she was in the hospital awaiting the birth of their child. "Could I have known," she asks. "How could I have known?" With scalding honesty, she tells of her life with the former governor, of the politics and public service that brought them together, and the lies that tore them apart. Here is a story of a marriage that was anything but happily-ever-after, told by a strong and resilient woman who can, and finally will, speak for herself.
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Foundation administrator writer
Matos, Dina was born on November 5, 1966 in Cantanhede, Portugal. Daughter of Ricardo and Maria Matos.
Although she was enrolled until 1991, she never graduated.
She served as first lady during the administration of her then-husband, Government. James McGreevey. In advance of an expected lawsuit, Government. McGreevey, with Matos at his side, revealed at an August 2004 press conference that he had had an affair with a man and was resigning from office.
Matos and McGreevey separated in October 2004.
A divorce was granted following a trial on August 8, 2008. They moved to the United States from Portugal when she was still young and settled in the heavily Portuguese Ironbound section of Newark.
Maria worked in a gift shop and Ricardo worked for the railroad. After graduating from East Side High School, she enrolled at the Newark campus of Rutgers University in 1984.
She majored in political science, but also worked as a secretary while in college.
Matos is a former manager of Public and Professional Relations at Saint James Hospital, and Executive Director of the Columbus Hospital Foundation in Newark, New Jersey. Personal
Matos met James East. McGreevey in 1996, while he was mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and they began dating the following year, shortly after he lost his first bid for governor to Christie Whitman. Together they have a daughter, Jacqueline Matos McGreevey, born prematurely on December 7, 2001 after Matos had been hospitalized for six weeks.
In October 2004, Dina Matos McGreevey purchased a three-bedroom, red brick ranch home in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey
Divorce trial
The Matos and McGreevey divorce and custody battle gained much media attention in New Jersey because McGreevey wanted full custody.
Matos wanted $600,000 plus alimony. She was denied alimony.
The trial to end their 3½-year separation started on May 6, 2008. Jim asked the court for equal custody of their 8-year-old daughter.
Matos McGreevey demanded $600,000 compensation.
They will also be using a parenting coordinator. Matos speaks fluent Portuguese and has worked to obtain green cards and naturalization for Portuguese immigrants. In June 2004, she was grand marshal of the Portugal Day parade in Newark.
Matos announced in January 2007 that she was writing a book, "Silent Partner", to end media speculation on her life.
On May 1, 2007, the day of the book"s release, Matos broke her silence and spoke on The Oprah Winfrey Show promoting her book On May 2, 2007, she appeared on American Broadcasting Company"s Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer and stated:
"I thought I had it all, I thought it was the American dream, and it turned out to be a nightmare.
. You know he had the entire day scripted.
His entire life had been choreographed, and even as his world was falling apart, he was still trying to script everything and making sure that day went as he wanted it". Gayle King interviewed Matos in the June 2007 edition of O, The Oprah Magazine.
( The truth behind the lies. It was an unforgettable scen...)
Trustee Salvation Army Ironbound Boys’ and Girls’ Club and Senior Center. Board member Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, D.A.R.E. Treasurer Portuguese American Scholarship Foundation.
Fellow: West Hudson Project Leadership Class of 1999, United Way of Essex. Member: New Jersey Health Care Public Relations and Marketing Association, Ironbound Association (trustee), Portuguese American Congress of New Jersey.
Married James E. McGreevey, October 7, 2000 (divorced 2008). 1 child Jacqueline Matos McGreevey.