New York, Sept. 19 : Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards in her first interview since her husband''s admitted affair, says trust and forgiveness remain elusive in her fractured 31-year marriage.

"When you mention trust, that''s probably the most difficult issue," the New York Daily News quoted Elizabeth as telling the Detroit Free Press.

The 59-year-old Edwards, battling terminal breast cancer, declined to say if she had forgiven her wayward spouse: "I don''t want to feed the monster, if you don''t mind."

She offered an analogy as an explanation: If she suffered a leg amputation, Edwards said, people wouldn''t ask, "Are you over that leg yet?"

The 45-minute telephone interview ended five weeks of near silence after Edwards'' admitted last month he had a sexual relationship with a woman who''d worked for his campaign.

Elizabeth Edwards said she didn''t want their three children - Cate, 26, Emma Claire, 10, and Jack, 8 - to think of their father as a philanderer.

She wants them to see her husband in a more positive light, particularly since he could become a single parent.

"I need to create the picture for them that I want them to have," she said, mentioning Edwards'' work to battle poverty.

She also said her husband''s confession helped her focus on the important things in life - particularly her children, "who are the center of my life."

Although wobbled when her husband''s affair became front-page news, Edwards said she was bouncing back.

It is, she said, "an ongoing process of finding your feet again ... There''s a lot of adjustment to make." (ANI)