McGreevey's wife on 'Oprah' today

NEWARK, N.J. - The estranged wife of former Gov. James McGreevey was to appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today, the release date of a book offering her side of the story.

Dina Matos McGreevey also is scheduled to appear tonight at a bookstore in Springfield, Union County, where she lives, to sign copies of "Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage," published by Hyperion Books.

With the book release and personal appearances, Matos Mc-Greevey will speak publicly for the first time since standing frozen-faced beside her husband as he told the world he was "a gay American" and had had an extramarital affair with a male aide.

"Silent Partner" is her response to McGreevey's memoir, "The Confession," published last September. In it, McGreevey described sexual encounters with aide Golan Cipel - who has denied having had an affair with McGreevey - and wrote that he married Matos McGreevey to advance his political career.

There has been much speculation about whether Matos McGreevey knew that her husband was gay.

In divorce papers he filed recently, McGreevey wrote that she "knew of my sexual orientation before our marriage" and "chose to either ignore it or block it out of her mind, even when questioned by her friends."

Matos McGreevey has not publicly commented on that, but a ghost writer said the memoir is based on a "translation" of the past as she tries to re-examine her life to see whether she should have known about her husband's infidelity and sexual orientation.

"Dina McGreevey lived 10 years with a man who was gay, but she didn't know he was gay," said Elizabeth Stone, the uncredited author.

"People who have loved ones who betray them, what do they do when they find out? They have to go back and re-experience."

Matos McGreevey is executive director of the Newark-based Columbus Foundation that promotes health and wellness.

Meanwhile, the couple, who are separated, were in court last Friday at a custody hearing for their 5-year-old daughter, Jacqueline. The judge said the couple will continue to share custody.

Afterward, McGreevey, 49, said that he had not seen an advance copy of his wife's memoir but that he planned to read it "at some point." *