-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Former 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards , who admitted last week that he fathered a child with a videographer who worked on his campaign , has legally separated from his wife , Elizabeth , a source close to her said Wednesday . The source would not say when the separation occurred , only that it happened a while ago . The source said he or she spoke to Elizabeth Edwards in recent days , and would not speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the situation . John Edwards issued a statement Wednesday , calling it `` an extraordinarily sad moment , but I love my children more than anything and still care deeply about Elizabeth . '' Elizabeth Edwards ' publisher , Random House , released a statement saying , `` Elizabeth is moving on with her life and wants to put this difficult chapter behind her . It was an excruciatingly painful period for her and she -LSB- has -RSB- no interest in rehashing the past . '' News of the separation comes a week before a tell-all book by Andrew Young , a one-time close confidante of John Edwards , is set to hit bookstores . `` Based on the limited portions of the book that have been made available , it is clear it contains many falsehoods and exaggerations , '' the statement from Random House said . '' -LSB- Elizabeth Edwards -RSB- will not engage in a dialogue on each of the false charges , but would like to set the record straight on two key points . `` First , the allegation that she sought to politicize her cancer is unconscionable , hurtful and patently false . Second , she believed Andrew Young to be the father of this child until her husband confessed his paternity to her this past summer . She will have nothing further to say . '' Edwards , 56 , had denied he was the father of his mistress Rielle Hunter 's infant for more than a year , saying his self-admitted affair with her was over before she became pregnant . People magazine , a CNN sister organization , first reported the story . Elizabeth Edwards ' sister , Nancy Anania , told People magazine in an article dated Wednesday that Elizabeth Edwards told her , `` I 've had it . I ca n't do this . I want my life back . '' The sister told the magazine , `` She 's got cancer and has young children and totally believes in marriage ... but she can only do so much . '' Read the People story John Edwards , a former U.S. senator from North Carolina , sought his party 's presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008 . On November 3 , 2004 , the day her husband and Sen. John Kerry , D-Massachusetts , conceded the presidential race , Elizabeth Edwards revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer . She discovered a lump in her right breast the last week of the campaign , but said she withheld the diagnosis from her husband to spare him the distraction during the campaign . She announced in 2007 that the cancer had recurred . Last year , she told CNN 's Larry King that the medicine she was taking seemed to be working . However , she said the situation was `` up and down . '' Elizabeth Edwards , 60 , and her husband have been married for 32 years . They had four children together . The oldest , Wade , died in a car accident in 1996 . Spokesmen for both of the Edwardses did not return CNN calls seeking comment . CNN 's Deb Krajnak contributed to this report .