NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SiriusXM
announced today that Ann Romney, the
former First Lady of Massachusetts, will be the featured guest on
the next installment of the "SiriusXM Leading Ladies" special
series, which offers candid conversations with influential and
inspiring women who have forged their own paths to leadership and
success.
In a conversation with SiriusXM's Press Pool host
Julie Mason, Mrs. Romney discussed
her experiences living with multiple sclerosis and her compelling
new memoir, In This Together: My
Story. The event took place at SiriusXM's Washington, D.C. headquarters and will debut
on P.O.T.U.S. (channel 124) on Friday,
October 9th at 3:00pm
ET.
In addition to being a powerful voice in her husband
Mitt Romney's 2012 run for the White
House, Mrs. Romney has been an outspoken figure for Americans
living with chronic disease. In this one-hour special, Mrs. Romney
opened up to Mason about how she first discovered she had MS and
the impact it's had on her life. She also revealed that
Jeb Bush did not push the Romneys
out of the 2016 race, and the reason she turned down "Dancing with
The Stars." Transcripts and audio clips from these highlights are
below.
Did the Romney's strongly consider another presidential run in
2016?
"This second time, not really. It was a twenty second 'Put your toe
in and then quick, pull it right back out.' Our boys called --
'What are you doing?' It wasn't a serious – I don't know, it wasn't
handled very well. I don't think Mitt and I handled that very well.
But honestly, we did think about it for a minute. I want to say,
though, people keep saying well 'Jeb Bush pushed you out.' No he
didn't. It was a decision we made. It had nothing to do with anyone
else talking to us about what was going on. It was a personal
decision. And it was again, when we make these important decisions,
we make it together, but we also we go with our gut. And our gut
just didn't feel like it was right."
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1Z7yqiJ
The reason why she turned down "Dancing with the Stars" and her
dream partner:
Romney: I got there, they brought me on set and everything, and
they really, really twisted my arm and tried to get me to do it.
And you know, in so many ways I wanted to do it, and I really
thought that I would maybe make a week or two, but that stamina you
need, I don't think I have the stamina. Plus, on top of that, I
thought that people don't appreciate – I didn't even write in the
book all the problems I have in my lower back with herniated discs
and all of that – and I'm like, "I know what will happen. Two weeks
out I'll be flat on my back with another disc gone." Really, it was
the physical thing that kept me from doing it. But what fun. I love
the show.
Mason: Who would be your dream partner?
Romney: The blonde kid. What's his name?...The regular on
"Dancing with The Stars"...Derek. But he always wins. He always
picks a partner that will win. I mean, this is gamed. I mean,
c'mon, look at that, he doesn't get the 60-year-old woman. He gets
the 20-year-old gold medal figure skater. So you kind of know that
I wasn't going to be in the finals either. I'm competitive. Darn.
I'd want to be in the finals.
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1MWS2zE
How Mrs. Romney discovered she had MS:
"It just sort of crept up on me. One summer, I remember my right
leg was numb. Sort of the middle part of my right leg was numb, and
I thought 'Well isn't that odd.' Didn't think much about it, and
four months later or so I noticed it was gone. It wasn't numb
anymore. But then a year later, all of a sudden, something was
going on. And it was enormous fatigue. Enormous fatigue. It's hard
to describe the fatigue. And as well, I was stumbling, I was
tripping, I was having trouble going up stairs – like I would lose
my balance. I felt like I needed to hang onto the wall sometimes
like I was going to fall over. I had weakness, enormous weakness,
and that numbness came back in my right leg. I had no idea what was
wrong with me. Absolutely not a clue. I just knew there was
something really wrong with me. And beyond everything else, it was
the fatigue that was the most debilitating….It went on for like a
couple of months and then I'm like 'I've got to do something about
this. This isn't going away.' It's not like, okay, I had a flu –
it's not going away, it's getting worse. My brother is a doctor, so
he listened quietly and patiently, and said 'You have to see a
neurologist.' And I did. And pretty quickly, I knew what was
wrong."
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1NjAYXm
The special will premiere Friday, October
9th at 3:00pm ET
and replay at 5:00pm and 10:00pm; Saturday at 1:00am, 2:00pm and
10:00pm ET; and Sunday at
6:00am and 11:00pm ET. The show will also be broadcast on
Patriot channel (125) on Saturday at 1:00pm
ET and Sunday at 8:00am ET;
and on Stars channel (109) on Saturday,
October 17th at 8pm
ET. In addition, the interview will be available via
SiriusXM On Demand, through the SiriusXM App for smartphones and
other mobile devices, and online at siriusxm.com.
For more information on SiriusXM, please visit
www.siriusxm.com.
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