In Wiki article he married her at 19 (I believe he first dated her at 16). Apparently, she remained 26 years old for about 4 years. LOL!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich
Gingrich has been married three times. He first married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26.[55][56] They had two daughters. Gingrich left Battley in the spring of 1980 after having an affair with Marianne Ginther[57][58]. According to Battley, Gingrich visited her later that year while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery to discuss the details of their divorce. Six months after it was final, Gingrich wed Ginther in 1981.[59][60]
Gingrich began an affair with Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior, in the mid nineties, which continued during the Congressional investigation of Bill Clinton and the Lewinsky scandal.[61] In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce with second wife Ginther was finalized. He and Callista currently live in McLean, Virginia.[62]
A Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich converted to Catholicism, his wife’s faith, on March 29, 2009.[63]
Way back when Newt first “took the stage” nationally, I read that he married her at 16. They ran away together. However, that could have been wrong, or my memory could have been wrong. Subsequent articles focused more on how he left her. In fact, this article is the FIRST that I have ever read that indicates that she is still alive. I wonder how he has kept her quiet over all these years?
He seems to have a problem with illness: abandons his bi-polar mother early; abandons his first wife when she has uterine cancer; abandons his 2nd wife when she is diagnosed with MS.
Calista had better pray to God that she remains healthy.