Ex-Call Girl Talks Scandal, 'Polite' Spitzer

Her Message to Governor's Wife: 'I'm Sorry for Your Pain'

PopEater

posted: 225 DAYS 19 HOURS AGO

comments: 50

filed under: Politics, Sex That's SFW, Troublemakers

Text SizeAAA

(Nov. 20) - She may be best known for being the call girl at the center of a scandal that ended the political career of Eliot Spitzer, but Ashley Dupré wishes people would just think of her as "a normal girl" from Jersey.

In her first interview since becoming a tabloid page-turning sensation, Dupré, 23, opens up to PEOPLE magazine about her encounter with New York's former governor, her troubled teen years and why she turned to prostitution.

Skip over this content

Ashley Dupre Snapshots

This undated photograph obtained from MySpace on March 12, 2008 shows Ashley Alexandra Dupre, 22, the woman reportedly behind the downfall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from office on March 12, 2008, succumbing to threats of impeachment and mounting media pressure over his involvement with a high-end prostitution ring. According to the New York Times on March 12, 2008, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, born Ashley Youmans, left a broken home on the Jersey Shore at age 17 and came to New York City to work the nightclubs as a rhythm & blues singer. AFP PHOTO/MYSPACE == NO SALES / GETTY OUT == (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

This photograph dated 2007 in St. Tropez, France and obtained from MySpace on March 12, 2008 shows Ashley Alexandra Dupre, 22, the woman reportedly behind the downfall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from office on March 12, 2008, succumbing to threats of impeachment and mounting media pressure over his involvement with a high-end prostitution ring. According to the New York Times on March 12, 2008, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, born Ashley Youmans, left a broken home on the Jersey Shore at age 17 and came to New York City to work the nightclubs as a rhythm & blues singer. AFP PHOTO/MYSPACE == NO SALES / GETTY OUT == (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

"Everyone knows me as 'that girl,' but I'm not just 'that girl," the Garden State native tells the magazine, "I have a lot of depth, a lot of layers."

As the story goes, Dupré didn't know who Spitzer was when she met up with him in February -- she had been working as an escort since 2004. She does, however, recall that the client was "polite" and wasn't particularly interested in small talk.

"Some guys, they want to have conversations and really get to know each other. With him, it clearly was not like that. It was more of a transaction. Strictly business," she says.

Skip over this content

Not until Spitzer announced his resignation in March did Dupré realize who the man was. "It was surreal," she recalls of hearing the news. "I felt like I was sinking." Dupré thinks the former governor has "been punished enough" since the fallout from the scandal. Asked what she would say to Spitzer's wife, Silda: "I'm sorry for your pain."

Dupré says she turned to turning tricks following a turbulent period in her life when she ran away from her suburban home and started drinking and partying, which eventually led to the escort job. "This wasn't any different than going on a date with someone you barely knew and hooking up with them," she says. "The only difference is I can pay my rent."

Dupre also sat down with Diane Sawyer for an ABC "20/20" segment to be aired Friday. In that interview, ABC said, she describes how an "upper middle-class, girl next door got into the profession and the psychological journey she continues to experience."

The aspiring entertainer says she has seen the error of her ways and is focusing on more PG-rated activities.

Skip over this content

"I'm 23 years old," she says. "I want to do music, to do fashion, to write books -- there's so many things." So, to be clear ... no more selling her body? "No," she says. "Never again."

One of her songs, "What We Want," even attracted some airplay on New York's Z100 in the wake of the scandal. The radio station called it a "surprisingly good song" that was worthy of attention. "Looks like she may have a new career; this time in music," SVP of Programming Tom Poleman said at the time.

Check out Asylum's story on high-priced call girls - an interview with a former co-worker of Ashley "Kristen" Dupre .

Skip over this content

FEED

More News at People.com

Listen to "What We Want" >>

2008-11-19 11:44:52

Christopher Peterson, BuzzFoto / FilmMagic

<< Mariah and Others Who Love Their Stars and Stripes -- The Daily Beast

Top 10 Celebrity Fourth of July US Destinations -- PopSugar

Shakira Shows Her Inner Beyonce -- Dlisted

Brad Pitt Has a Breakdown -- Just Jared

Lauren Conrad Tries to Recreate 'The Notebook' -- Radar Online