Who is John Merrill's wife Cindy Benford Merrill? A look at GOP politician's family amid extramarital affair
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill is in deep trouble after texts and audio clips of his affair have been released. The Republican was reportedly involved with Cesaire McPherson, a legal assistant, for three years between November 2017 and 2020. After initially denying the reports, he then admitted to the affair, which has had a massive impact on his political fortunes.
Merrill has been forced to abandon a planned run for the US Senate, and also said he would not be seeking "any other elected position in 2022." What about his family? Right now it is unclear how the news will affect his marriage to Cindy Benford, a life-long educator. The couple also has two children together. The family is yet to issue a statement or publicly address the affair.
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Here's everything we know about Cindy and the couple's children.
Who is Merrill's family?
Not much is known about Cindy, who lives a very low-key life away from the public eye. She was born in Phil Campbell, Alabama, and married Merrill on May 12, 1985, at Calvary Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. In 2013, as the couple celebrated 28 years together, Merrill tweeted that the marriage "has made all the difference for me".
28 years ago today, Cindy Benford & I were married @ Calvary Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. That decision has made all the difference for me
— John Merrill (@JohnHMerrill) May 11, 2013
All that is known about Cindy is that she is a life-long educator. She was reportedly the former principal of Westwood Elementary School in Coker, Alabama. Her Facebook profile says she is a 'retired Elementary School Principal at Tuscaloosa County Schools'. In 1985, she graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in elementary education. The couple seems to enjoy the outdoors since Cindy has posted multiple photos on Facebook of outdoor locations like Grace High Falls. She also seems quite politically active, and has posted multiple images and posts encouraging people to vote.
The couple has two children - Brooks Merrill and Allie Grace Merrill. According to a biography on a Congressional website, Brooks lives in New York and works with Chick-fil-A while Allie is a flight attendant with American Airlines. A LinkedIn profile that appears to belong to Brooks lists his current position as 'Events Management Cooridnator' for the University of South Florida. The profile does not feature any mention of Chick-fil-A. The profile says he graduated in 2012 from the University of Alabama and has an MBA from the University of South Florida.
While Brooks has steered quite far away from politics, his sister Allie has had a much closer connection. We found a LinkedIn profile for Allie, but cannot verify if it actually belongs to her. According to that profile, Allie has interned with Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Speaker Mike Hubbard. She is now a 'Charter Flight Specialist' with American Airlines.
Both Brooks and Allie do not seem to have public Facebook or Instagram profiles, so not much is known about their personal lives.
