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Trina and Edwin get real – The former governor and his wife talk about their upcoming show The Governor’s Wife

Edwin Edwards is no stranger to the spotlight.

The 86-year-old former Louisiana governor’s past is riddled with controversy, whether you’re discussing his time in prison for bribery and extortion or his marriage to Trina Grimes Scott, a 35-year-old who was Edwards’ pen pal while he was serving time.

The marriage, Trina’s relationship with Edwin’s daughters Anna and Victoria, Trina’s discovery of Edwin’s reserve of frozen sperm and her desire to deliver Edwin’s baby are just some of the elements on display in The Governor’s Wife, a new reality show on A&E.

Trina says she wanted to do the show because she feels a lot of people have misconceptions about the family’s life.

“I caught so much flack, and I was judged by so many people,” she says. “I recognized opening myself up this way will bring more of that, but this is my life. This is who I am. Edwin and I have a wonderful marriage. It’s better than most people who are the same age. I’m happy about that. We have a fabulous life.

We’re normal. People have this idea of who we are in their mind, and I wanted to prove that wrong.”

Edwin says he wasn’t sure about the idea of a reality show at first, but as the shooting started, he became more interested in the premise.

“I’m not quite sure I said I wanted to do this,” he says. “Trina was enthralled with the idea, and I went along with it. I think people have an unusual and unreal opinion of what my life is about. I’m a very ordinary person. I do the ordinary things. I don’t have an extraordinary life.”

Though Edwin says he’s used to the scrutiny and attention, Trina says the show was a lot more work than she expected.

“It was six days a week, 12-hour days, for almost a year,” she says. “We didn’t have any time to ourselves. We woke up with people there in the morning, and went to bed with people there at night.”

Trina says she was instantly thrown into the spotlight once she married Edwin. She wasn’t worried about doing anything embarrassing—she was more concerned about being herself.

“Our life is an open book whether we like it or not,” she says. “I am what I am; it is what it is. I didn’t want to be something I wasn’t.”

Though the couple’s baby boy was born in August, the family and audiences everywhere will get a chance to relive the months leading up to the pregnancy and delivery on the show.

So far, the Edwards clan has seen the first two episodes. Trina says it “accurately portrays the dynamics of our family.”

For Edwin, he wants people to view the series with an open mind: “I hope people view this and think things are not
all that different no matter who you are, as long as you have a family and try to make the world a better place with those people.”

The show premieres Sunday, Oct. 27, at 9 p.m. central on A&E. Check your local listings.