Gingrich has been married three times. In 1962, he married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26.[117][118] Gingrich and Battley have two daughters from this marriage: Kathy Gingrich Lubbers is president of Gingrich Communications,[119] and Jackie Gingrich Cushman is an author, conservative columnist, and political commentator[120] whose books include 5 Principles for a Successful Life, co-authored with Newt Gingrich.[121] In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther.[122][123] In 1984, Battley told the Washington Post that the divorce was a “complete surprise” to her. According to Battley, in September 1980, Gingrich and their children visited her while she was in the hospital, recovering from surgery, and Gingrich wanted to discuss the terms of their divorce.[124] Gingrich has disputed that account.[94] In 2011, their daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, said that it was her mother who requested the divorce, that it happened prior to the hospital stay, and that Gingrich's visit was for the purpose of bringing the couple's children to see their mother, not to discuss the divorce.[125]
Six months after the divorce from Battley was final, Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther in 1981.[126][127][128][129] In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior. They continued their affair during the Lewinsky scandal, when Gingrich became a leader of the investigation of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged affairs.[130] In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce from second wife Ginther. He and Callista currently live in McLean, Virginia.[131] In a 2011 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network Gingrich addressed his past infidelities by saying, “There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.”[128][129]
A Southern Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich converted to Catholicism, Bisek’s faith, on March 29, 2009.[132] He said “over the course of several years, I gradually became Catholic and then decided one day to accept the faith I had already come to embrace.” The moment when he decided to officially become a Catholic was when he saw Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the United States in 2008: “Catching a glimpse of Pope Benedict that day, I was struck by the happiness and peacefulness he exuded. The joyful and radiating presence of the Holy Father was a moment of confirmation about the many things I had been thinking and experiencing for several years.”[133] Gingrich has stated that he has developed a greater appreciation for the role of faith in public life following his conversion, and believes that the United States has become too secular. At a 2011 appearance in Columbus, Ohio, he said, “In America, religious belief is being challenged by a cultural elite trying to create a secularized America, in which God is driven out of public life.”[94]
Gingrich has been a prolific amateur reviewer of books, especially of military histories and spy novels, for Amazon.com. As of 2004, Gingrich held the #488 spot among Amazon's top reviewers. Although an author himself, Gingrich does not review his own works. According to Katherine Mangu-Ward at The Weekly Standard, it is “clear that Newt is fascinated by tipping points—moments where new technology or new ideas cause revolutionary change in the way the world works”.[134]
Gingrich is known for, and has written on several occasions about, his great interest in animals.[135][136] According to USA Today, Gingrich's first engagement in civic affairs was speaking to the city council in his hometown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, about why the city should establish its own zoological park. Gingrich wrote the introduction for the 2008 book America's Best Zoos.[137] Gingrich is also known as a dinosaur enthusiast. A New Yorker comment on his 1995 book To Renew America noted: “Charmingly, he has retained his enthusiasm for the extinct giants into middle age. In addition to including breakthroughs in dinosaur research on his list of futuristic wonders, he specified ‘people interested in dinosaurs’ as a prime example of who might benefit from his education proposals.”[138] Another subject of interest to Gingrich is space exploration, originating in a fascination with the United States/Soviet Union space race during his teenage years.[139] Gingrich has stated that he would like to see the U.S. aggressively pursue new achievements in space, such as sustaining civilizations beyond Earth,[140] and he advocates relying more on the private sector and less on NASA to drive progress.[141] As of 2010, Gingrich serves on the National Space Society Board of Governors.[142]
Oh my, does Jesus know you’re running for His position?
I’m glad I don’t look to politicians as the determiners of my moral code...I’d be sorely disappointed every time.