SEX SCANDALS: Why Are Men Forgiven and Women Not..

• Christine Beatty had six-year affair with disgraced mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
• Both jailed after sext messages showed they had lied under oath in a trial
• Claims her career struggled after prison, while he landed six-figure job

The mistress whose affair brought down former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick claims men are forgiven after political sex scandals while women are negatively labelled.

Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff, had a six-year relationship with Kilpatrick during his time in office that would eventually land them both in jail.

They each pleaded guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges in 2008 after intimate text messages were published that showed they had lied under oath about their affair during a police whistle-blower trial.

Kilpatrick resigned from office and both were sentenced to four months in prison in one of the biggest scandals the city has ever known.

Writing in the November issue of Essence Magazine, as cited by the Detroit Free Press, Beatty tells how she was professionally sidelined after the scandal, while Kilpatrick landed a six-figure job when he left jail.

She says she has been holding down temporary consulting positions, but is struggling to get her career on track, claiming that women are shunned far more than men after sex scandals.

Beatty says she has been on a 'journey of self-forgiveness' in subsequent years.

She said: 'I know that no matter how unhappy you are, you can't look for happiness in someone else.

'I've also come to understand that while you can't help how you feel, you are in control of your actions.'

Beatty tells how she met Kilpatrick in 1984 when they were 14 and dated him briefly at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.

For years, she remembered their first kiss, one that was 'passionate yet gentle... the sweetest thing I had ever experienced.'

In 2002, the pair became intimate for the first time when her marriage was on the rocks and two years later, when she had separated from her husband, she was 'totally consumed' by the affair.

In the article, called A Real-Life Scandal, she writes: 'We would find any spare time we could to be together, at the office or at my home when my children weren’t there.

'He made me laugh, he made me angry, he propelled me to ecstasy and reduced me to tears, but most important, I felt he loved me unconditionally.'

She says they both knew what they were doing was wrong, but couldn't stop.

When told that their intimate text messages were about to be made public, she said she 'fell to my knees, sobbing'.

In 2010, Kilpatrick was sent back to state prison for 18 months to five years for violating probation in the text message scandal by hiding assets to avoid paying down a $1 million in restitution he agreed to give to the City.

He was freed in August 2011, but very soon found himself at the centre of another scandal.

He was convicted of corruption charges in March this year, ensuring a return to prison for a man once among the nation's youngest big-city leaders.

Jurors found Kilpatrick guilty of a raft of crimes, including a racketeering conspiracy charge.

'He made me laugh, he made me angry, he propelled me to ecstasy and reduced me to tears, but most important, I felt he loved me unconditionally'

                                         Christine Beatty

He was portrayed during a five-month trial as an unscrupulous politician who took bribes, rigged contracts and lived far beyond his means while in office until fall 2008.

Prosecutors said Kilpatrick ran a 'private profit machine' out of Detroit's City Hall.

The government presented evidence to show he got a share of the spoils after ensuring that Ferguson's excavating company was awarded millions in work from the water department.

Business owners said they were forced to hire Ferguson as a subcontractor or risk losing city contracts.

Internal Revenue Service agents said Kilpatrick spent $840,000 beyond his mayoral salary.

Kilpatrick, who now lives near Dallas, declined to testify.

He has long denied any wrongdoing, and defense attorney James Thomas told jurors that Kilpatrick often was showered with cash gifts from city workers and political supporters during holidays and birthdays.

The government said Kilpatrick abused the Civic Fund, a nonprofit fund he created to help distressed Detroit residents. 

There was evidence that it was used for yoga lessons, camps for his kids, golf clubs and travel.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday.