INSIDE EDITION speaks exclusively to the ex-husband of the former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader who pleaded guilty to having sex with a student and then flaunted her relationship in court.
Nathan Wilburn is talking exclusively to INSIDE EDITION about his ex-wife, the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader and high school teacher who had sex with a teenage student.
The video of Sarah Jones leaving court last week, holding hands with the young man after pleading guilty shocked America, but no-one was more shocked than her ex-husband.
INSIDE EDITION’s Paul Boyd said, “She's actually holding hands with her victim as she leaves the courtroom here.”
Nathan said, “I know. It's unbelievable. It makes me sick. I feel like it's a real slap in my face.”
Watching that video fills 26-year-old Wilburn with anger and disgust.
“I'm heartbroken to be honest. It would be one thing for her to just plead guilty and get out of there but for her to do this takes it to another level,” he said.
Her tearful confession in court, and her defiant flaunting of her relationship, was a stunning blow.
Wilburn said, “I want to cry just watching it. It's sickening it truly is. It makes me feel like a fool.”
Jones and Wilburn were high school sweethearts. A photo was taken at Disneyland when he got down on one knee and proposed. In an engagement photo she's wearing a T-shirt that says "Off the market."
She was the captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad, so their wedding in 2011 was an all-Bengals affair. The bridesmaids wore the team colors and the reception was at the stadium.
But the wedding almost didn't take place. Nathan had heard rumors Jones was cheating with a 17-year-old boy. Wilburn said she swore to him they were untrue.
Wilburn said, “Why did she go through with this marriage? It's like she wanted to hurt me.”
Wilburn said he even confronted the teenager when he found out he was texting his wife late at night.
Boyd asked, “What did he say when you called him up?”
Wilburn replied, “He was nervous. He was scared. He even hung up on me at one point and I called him back. He was saying ‘Oh, she's my teacher, she helps me with my schoolwork, she's my tutor.’”
Just six weeks after the wedding, Wilburn had enough and he and Jones split up.
Yet, even after her arrest he says he continued to believe in her innocence. So it came as a shock when Jones confessed in court to having sex with the student.
She was sentenced to five years probation, and she left defiantly flaunting her relationship with the teenager.
Boyd asked, “Sarah's not going to spend a single day in jail for this, is she?”
Wilburn replied, “She's getting off scot-free if you ask me.”
