On the heels of a sex scandal involving a female patient, another woman has acknowledged having a sexual relationship with physician and U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais while she was under his medical care. She did so in an interview with the Chattanooga Times-Free Press.

The second woman described DesJarlais as “the nicest guy” and said he cooked dinner for her at their first get-together in 2000.
But she also said they smoked marijuana during their relationship and remembered DesJarlais prescribing her pain medication on dates at his home.
“His biggest thing that’s completely unethical is him just picking up women while he’s a doctor,” the woman said in an interview last week. “I mean, seriously, that’s his big no-no. … He’s just a hound.”
The woman said the affair lasted six months and included mutual illicit drug use.
“Scott was just a regular guy,” she said. “He smoked. I mean, he smoked pot. He [did] all that stuff.”
The woman’s remarks about marijuana use could not be independently verified.
DesJarlais is a Republican seeking re-election in the 4th District. In a prepared statement Saturday, his campaign did not dispute any specific allegations by the woman, instead condemning “personal smear campaigns that hurt families” and “have no place in politics.”
“This is not a credible story, and it seems that the Chattanooga Times Free Press has no interest in informing their readers about real issues facing Tennesseans but would rather focus solely on a 14-year-old divorce,” campaign manager Brandon Lewis said.
The woman lives in a 4th District county close to the Chattanooga area. The Times Free Press granted her anonymity but checked her driver’s license and verified her identity in DesJarlais’ divorce papers — her name is included in his ex-wife’s extensive list of “potential witnesses.” Court records and a family friend confirm that the woman and DesJarlais had an affair.
…Now in her 40s, the woman said she met DesJarlais as a patient in the mid-1990s and began dating him about five years later in the midst of his divorce.
She said DesJarlais’ early attempts at romance were “bizarre.” She recalled feeling strange about a general practitioner who encouraged her to call him at home. Eventually he phoned her and invited her over.
“He was the nicest guy — made dinner, supernice, tried to razzle-dazzle you with his conversation,” she said. “I don’t know exactly how it started, but I mean, when it did, he just kept on and kept on.”
Some dates occurred at the physician’s home, and other times they went out, the woman said. She remembered going by DesJarlais’ medical office to talk but recalled no romantic encounters there.
The woman said she kept DesJarlais as her doctor for some time after the affair. But after he kept trying to rekindle their relationship in settings outside his office, she said she eventually sought a different doctor.
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—Note: Brandon Lewis, DesJarlais campaign manager, sent an email Sunday giving this response to the Chattanooga TFP story:
“The woman mentioned in this article has reached out to both the congressman’s wife and the paper to express concerns about her statements being taken out of context and factual inaccuracies contained in this article.
“It is clear that the Chattanooga Times Free Press has no interest in informing their readers about the real issues facing Tennesseans. Rather than focusing solely on a 14 year old divorce, why don’t they talk to the congressman’s wife, Amy, who he has been married to for more than 10 years?
“It speaks volumes that even Lincoln Davis recently said that he regretted his actions and that these types of personal smear campaigns that hurt families have no place in politics.”