A video of Madison Cawthorn explaining how he met his wife emerged on the internet over the weekend.
In June 2020, Cawthorn shared the story, which included a Russian casino, a US Army captain, and a fake CrossFit competition, in an interview with a right-wing site.
The congressman told how he was on vacation in Russia with friends. Cawthorn had back surgery that he feared would prevent him from flying again.
Cawthorn said they decided to take $100 each and go into a casino to see how it went. Since gambling and casinos have been banned in Russia since 2009, Cawthorn didn't mention how he got into the casino.
Cawthorn said that he met an American who was a captain in the Army and was originally from Miami.
The congressman said he and Todd were in contact for over a year and a half. Cawthorn said that he and Todd were invited to a competition by Todd when they were on a work trip to Miami.
I said that I couldn't do the sport because I'm in a wheelchair. He told Cawthorn to do the pull-up section.
Cawthorn attended the competition but found it to be a fake.
He wanted to put me in the same room with the girl who was going to become my fiancée. We hit it off, and it's been a wonderful relationship ever since.
On December 22, Cawthorn announced that he would be divorcing his wife after just under a year of marriage.
Representatives for Cawthorn and Bayardelle did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
