Nathan Wade: ‘Work Place Romances Are as American as Apple Pie’

Reid: “And so you — you were brought into the case and you came November 1st. This was after, you know, the — there was — the investigation, there’s a special grand jury that then gets impaneled in May of 2022. That’s just the basic timeline. And because this is really what became an issue in attempting to remove D.A. Willis and yourself from the case, at the time that you were brought on to the case, from then through the time of the grand jury, before you were brought on, did you have a personal relationship with or a personal intimate relationship with D.A. Willis?”
Wade: “Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Our relationship was professional. Our relationship grew organically over time. It was something that was not deliberate or intentional. I made the statement earlier that workplace romances are as American as apple pie, right? That was not to make light of the situation. That was just to say that it could happen to anyone. Of course, we’re not speaking in extremes. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s a thing that happens. It’s a thing that happened to us. I felt like we dealt with it in a manner that was professional. We kept our personal lives personal and private. And I still believe that it had no place in the courtroom. Not now and not then.”
Reid: “Now this issue became an issue in your divorce. You filed for divorce literally the day after you were brought on as special prosecutor. And this became an issue to the point where your former wife tried to subpoena and drag D.A. Willis into the case. And so, you know, the contention that she was making was that this was an on going relationship that began before. So you say that absolutely it did not begin before you became special prosecutor.”
Wade: “Absolutely not. And I think the contention that she was making at the time was not that it began before then, was that there was some funds that were used — marital funds that were used in order to entertain her.”
Reid: “Okay. And now let’s talk about this, because the case to try to remove D.A. Willis and to remove yourself, it involved — I mean, to me this is not anyone’s business. Everyone’s personal life, as you said, workplace romances happen, but can you tell me when it the timeline of this case — because you had a grand jury that was impaneled later in 2022— about when did the relationship take place?”
Wade: “So, let me say this. I needed to be clear that when the relationship began, my then-wife was not in the home. She had moved to Texas and we had been separated for a period of time. We did not have a relationship. She knew and I knew, by agreement, that as soon as our youngest child graduated high school and matriculated into college, that we would then formally file the divorce.”