Amanda Beard slams former boyfriend Carl Edwards in memoir

UPDATE #2 Carl Edwards took the high road Friday when asked about the critical comments former girlfriend Amanda Beard wrote about him in her new book. "I'm not going to bash her or say bad things about her," Edwards said in the Texas Motor Speedway media center. "She's a mother, she's a wife and someone I cared about." Beard, a former Olympic gold medal swimmer, describes Edwards as self-absorbed, insanely jealous and controlling in their two-year relationship from 2005 and 2006. Sixteen pages of the 256-page book titled, "In the Water, They Can't See You Cry," are devoted to their times together. The book also details Beard's previous problems with drug use and bulimia. "I considered us friends and I didn't realize she had all those problems," Edwards said. "I would have done anything in the world to help her with those. Regardless of what she writes in a book, if she ever needs something from me, I'd be there to help her out." But Edwards said he's still dumbfounded by some of the things Beard wrote in her book. "I don't know where to start," he said, "whether it's the psychology of feelings about a relationship that doesn't work out or the strategy to sell book. To be honest, it's just weird. I don't know how to address things that I don't remember happening." Edwards married Dr. Kate Downey in 2009. They have two children; two-year-old Anne and Michael, 11 months ESPN

Beard (right) accuses Edwards (left) of being a control freak

04/14/12 Edwards, who finished second to Tony Stewart in the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, was asked about the book Friday at Texas Motor Speedway during his weekly news conference.

“It really caught me off-guard," Edwards said. “It was kind of sad in a way for me to read that. It made me feel a little bit sad for Amanda that she was going through all that."

Beard writes in the book that Edwards was “adamant that his way was the only right one" and says that their relationship revolved around Edwards, who is two years older than Beard.

“He never asked me what I might like to do, because he only wanted to be on Carl time," she wrote. “He couldn’t imagine any other kind of time."

Beard, who posed for several men’s magazines after the 2004 Olympics, said that Edwards asked her not to pose in sexy swimsuits and didn’t want her to see her male friends. She wrote that Edwards got angry once when she rode in a golf kart with another NASCAR driver and recounts a conversation in which she claims Edwards couldn’t remember basic things about her family.

Beard wrote that their relationship ended because of a lack of communication and jealously and that she cut ties with Edwards “severely and permanently."

Edwards said he “absolutely" disputed Beard’s claims about him in the book.

“I wouldn’t know where to start," Edwards said. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about the psychology of feelings and opinions when you have a relationship that doesn’t work out, or if I’m supposed to talk about the strategies to sell books.

“It’s just weird. I don’t know how to address things that I don’t even remember happening. That’s tough. It’s pretty far out there in left field for me."

Now married to Dr. Kate Downey and the father of two children, Edwards said that when he heard that Beard was writing a book, he thought “good for her, that’s awesome."

“All of the correspondence we have ever had between 2006 and now has all been good," Edwards said. “I considered us friends.

“I want to be very clear: I’m not going to bash her. I’m not going to say bad things about her because I didn’t know all that stuff was going on. She’s a mother. She’s a wife. And she’s someone that I cared about."

So what did he think when he read the book?

“I didn’t know what to think about it," Edwards said. “I guess all I can say is I considered us friends, and I didn’t realize she had all those problems.

“I would have done anything in the world to help her with those. As always, regardless of what she writes in her books and things like that, if she ever needs something from me, I’d be there to help her out." Sporting News

04/05/12 When Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard and NASCAR star Carl Edwards dated for nearly a year from 2005-2006, they were one of the most high-profile couples in sports.

But the Olympic gold medalist says she still feels jilted by the Roush Fenway Racing driver.

In her memoir, “In the Water They Can’t See You Cry," Beard describes Edwards as self-absorbed, insanely jealous and controlling.

The 349-page book, which was released Tuesday, features 16 pages on Beard’s relationship with Edwards, who has 19 career Sprint Cup victories and finished second to Tony Stewart in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last year.

Beard writes about her attraction to Edwards and what eventually led to their breakup.

She says in the book that Edwards was “adamant that his way was the only right one," and that the relationship revolved around Edwards, who is two years older than Beard.

“He never asked me what I might like to do, because he only wanted to be on Carl time," she wrote. “He couldn’t imagine any other kind of time."

Edwards, who was 26 when he dated Beard, married Dr. Kate Downey in 2009. They have two children.

With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series off this week, Edwards is on vacation and was unavailable for comment, a Roush Fenway Racing spokesman said Wednesday.

Beard wrote in the book that she has cut ties with Edwards “severely and permanently." She says she at first was enamored with the NASCAR lifestyle but that the excitement quickly waned.

She described having a beer with other drivers’ wives and girlfriends in the driver motorhome lot at the track.

“Their entire existence revolved around their significant others," she wrote. “Three beers and a thousand predictions later, I wanted to scream, Don’t you guys have lives? They were very sweet, but I didn’t have anything in common with the rest of the women."

Beard said her relationship with Edwards deteriorated because of a lack of communication and jealousy. Sporting News

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