Harrell said Wednesday the allegations of affairs and heavy drinking are new to him and he is talking to his attorney.
"It's a personal matter," Harrell said. "My wife and I have been separated for a bit of time. Despite what the personal challenges are, all the allegations that are being hurled about, my main, my only focus is the continued well being of my two sons."
Now, Harrell's wife of 18 years said she wanted custody of their sons and financial support. She said Harrell was reckless with money and behavior and that he "would stay out until the early morning hours, spending time with other women and engaging in excessive use of alcohol."
"You can't believe everything you see, read and hear," Harrell said. "But what you can believe, as I stand here right now, is that I love my boys more than anything else in the world."
Harrell said his political future is the least of his concerns right now and that he is focusing on his family. However, some wonder about his political career.
"Well, I think he's still an up and coming star," Political Consultant Brad Crone said.
Crone also said like many other politicians before him, Harrell would be able to weather his personal storm.
"The voters have ability to separate out someone's private life and someone's public life and in a situation like this, everybody's sad about what's going on, but it really doesn't impact his ability to get his job done," Crone said.
