Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has previously denied allegations she cheated on her husband multiple times during her gubernatorial campaign, but sources have recently stated that the former South Carolina governor’s denials in the matter are false.
New witnesses have come forth, telling the Daily Mail that Haley’s denials of engaging in intimate relationships outside of her marriage were false. They said such affairs were known by most in South Carolina’s political network.
In 2010, Larry Merchant, 61, and Will Folks, 49, signed affidavits claiming they shared an intimate relationship with Haley shortly before she became governor of The Palmetto State.
When the affidavits came to light, Haley denied both, saying she was “100%” faithful to her husband and father of her two children, Michael Haley, who was notably deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 with the U.S. National Guard.
Despite her denials, several individuals have told the Daily Mail that they knew of Haley’s infidelity during her time in South Carolina’s legislature, including times when Haley would spend nights with other men in her Columbia, South Carolina, apartment.
Such a development comes days before the New Hampshire primary, scheduled to begin on Jan. 23, 2024.
The New Hampshire primary offers Haley a second chance to obtain second place after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) edged out the former South Carolina governor in the Iowa caucuses.
Sources speaking with the Daily Mail noted that amid allegations of affairs, Haley consistently references her husband on the campaign trail.
“I’m doing this for my husband and his military brothers and sisters. They need to know their sacrifice matters,” Haley said during a speech in December 2023.
Haley’s latest campaign advertisement features photographs of Michael returning home in 2013 after his deployment to Afghanistan.
Interestingly, in 2007, Folks served as Haley’s communications consultant during her time in the South Carolina legislature.
Nikki Haley cheated on her husband. With multiple men. Her PR guy and even a married man—a lobbyist. pic.twitter.com/jeU5HT2GRm
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 19, 2024
In 2010, Folks alleged that he and Haley “engaged in an inappropriate physical relationship,” which often consisted of intimacy. He added that he and the former South Carolina governor first shared a kiss in a vehicle and that they would regularly meet at her apartment in downtown Columbia.
“Representative Haley and I shared our first kiss while sitting in her parked car outside of MacDougal’s restaurant and bar in downtown Columbia, S.C.,” Folks wrote in an October 2020 affidavit.
Folks wrote that by June 2007, he broke off the private relationship with Haley after meeting the woman he married the following year, Katrina Steinborn.
In a sworn statement from 2023, Merchant also claimed that in June 2008, he would have dinner, drinks, and inappropriate relationships with Haley, whose two children, Rena and Nalin, were 10 years old and seven years old, respectively, at the time.
“Rep. Nikki Haley and I were in Salt Lake City attending a conference together on June 14-15, 2008,” Merchant wrote in the affidavit. “We were both staying at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown.”
Merchant was married during his affairs with Haley and later divorced in 2023, citing the private relationship in court documents.
