( CNN ) -- Former South Carolina Gov . Mark Sanford , who resigned because of an extramarital affair with Maria Belen Chapur , told CNN in an interview Wednesday he was `` completely '' surprised when Chapur -- now his fiancee -- showed up the night before to appear with him when he claimed victory in the runoff for the GOP nomination for his old U.S. House seat . `` I round the corner and there she is to give me a hug and surprise me , '' Sanford said on `` The Lead with Jake Tapper '' the day after his comeback political victory . `` It was not at all what I expected . It was an awfully , awfully nice surprise . '' Chapur has rarely been seen in public with Sanford after the scandal of the affair , which was revealed after Sanford lied about hiking on the Appalachian Trail while he traveled to Argentina to visit her . He ended up getting divorced , and his victory in Tuesday 's runoff vote was a the first step in a political comeback .
Former South Carolina Governor . Sanford talks about his former mistress , now his fiancee . Sanford wins a run - off vote to become the Democratic nominee for his former U.S. Senate seat .