David Petraeus has consigned himself to a year in the doghouse with his wife Holly Petraeus even though he is getting “cabin fever” stuck at home while he waits for the attention around his sex scandal to die down.
Friends have revealed that David Petraeus has given up his relentless schedule of high level meetings for “self-imposed exile” and groveling to his family.
Gone are his five-mile runs in the open air every morning in Washington D.C. – instead he has confined himself indoors and is working out on a treadmill.
David Petraeus has also traded CIA briefings for emailing friends to chat and catching up on his reading.
Meanwhile his wife of 38 years, Holly Petraeus, has made a point of going to work every day and leaving him home alone.
Among the blog posts she has written in her role as a spokeswoman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the line: “You know the old saying: <<If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is>>.”
According to the New York Times, friends of David Petraeus are “concerned” that a man so used to constantly working has nothing to do for the first time in his life.
His main focus is lying low and salvaging his marriage given that Holly Petraeus is said to be “furious” over his conduct and has threatened to divorce him.
David Petraeus’s close friend Jack Keane, the former vice chief of staff of the Army, said: “Basically he’s the same guy but considerably more subdued, in terms of his spirit.
“And that’s understandable. His voice doesn’t have the same peppiness in it.”
David Petraeus is said to be weighing up his options about what to do the in the future including offers for a book deal, speaking engagements and interest from various corporations to serve on their boards.
Having hired media super-lawyer Robert Barnett he could also become a talking head on TV.
For now, however, he hardly leaves the house and is having to prove to Holly Petraeus that he deserves her trust again. The New York Times said he plans to put his life on hold for the next 12 months to sort out the mess.
A friend said: “Several of us are concerned. He’s a very active individual. He needs to stay active.”
Another friend said: “I asked him whether he’d seen a certain article, and he said: <<No, send it my way. I’m looking for something to read right now>>.
“He kept such a grueling schedule. This is unchartered territory for him right now.”
Meanwhile Holly Petraeus has been in the office every day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in her role running the Office of Service Member Affairs.
She has written two blog posts in the last week including one about the dangers of buying a flood damaged car which includes the line: “Once you’ve signed the contract you’re committed, so Know Before You Owe!”
Until the scandal became public, the Petraeuses seemed to have a rock solid marriage.
They met on a blind date when David Petraeus was a student at the military academy at West Point, where Holly’s father was the superintendent.
He graduated in June 1947 and the couple married the following month, before going on to have two children, Ann and Stephen, and traveling the world with his work.
Despite moving 24 times in 38 years, Holly Petraeus has also built her own career.
She became a volunteer, performing military and family support roles on bases, before assuming her current title.
A source has told the National Enquirer that David Petraeus has been “falling all over himself” apologizing but she “isn’t listening”.
The source said: “After all his lies, she doesn’t believe anything he says anymore, and she’s thinking about consulting a divorce attorney.”
Friends have also given fresh insight into how David Petraeus became involved with Army reservist Paula Broadwell whilst she was writing his biography.
A friend said that the general initially thought it was a book on Afghanistan and that he “belatedly” realized it was about him.
When Paula Broadwell told him about the six-figure advance he thought: “Well, I better help her to get it halfway right rather than pushing her away to have something come out that was half-baked.”
He also admitted that after breaking off the relationship he continued to help Paula Broadwell with the project to try and put things back on a more “professional plane”.
