Jeb Bush: 'Faithful'

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/18/2001 at 01:00 PM EDT

Speaking to reporters Monday, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 48, denied rumors of a sexual affair with Cynthia Henderson, 40, whom he appointed to lead the state Department of Management Services. Furthermore, he said that he has never been unfaithful to Columbia, his wife of 27 years. "As you know, there have been persistent rumors about my fidelity to my wife," Bush said at a bill-signing ceremony in the state capital. "I've been faithful to her. There is nothing to these rumors. It (sic) is an outright lie." Several newspapers recently have written about the allegations. Bush, who has three children with Columbia, called the rumors "hurtful."