Paula Broadwell caught gazing adoringly at David “Peaches” Petraeus as he arrived at hearing with his wife

Paula Broadwell, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus cheating scandal, was caught gazing at the former CIA director as he entered a congressional hearing with his wife Holly in a photograph from 2011.

General David Petraeus resigned in disgrace from his post at the CIA last week after it was revealed that he had an affair with Paula Broadwell, who is shown smiling and looking up at him in the image.

David Petraeus’s now humiliated wife of 38 years, Holly, is also shown in the photograph, walking slightly ahead of her husband.

The image was taken during a June 23, 2011 Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing on David Petraeus’s nomination to be director of the CIA.

The affair was discovered when Paula Broadwell, 40, sent a spate of threatening emails to 37-year-old Jill Kelley, who works for the State Department, warning her to “stay away” from David Petraeus.

Jill Kelley notified the FBI of the emails and their investigation revealed a number of sexually explicit emails between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus, one of which referenced “sex under a desk”.

Paula Broadwell often referred to the 60-year-old general as “peaches” in the emails, which was David Petraeus’s nickname in high school that stuck with him through his cadet years at West Point.

The nickname was a reflection of his wholesome character, according to a biography on him written in Vanity Fair.

At the time of the photograph it is thought that the affair between David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell was still continuing despite both being married with children.

David Petraeus issued a statement acknowledging the affair on Friday after President Barack Obama accepted his resignation, which was announced by the CIA soon after.