Back From War, Into Tabloid Territory

CBS correspondent Lara Logan, who's newly stationed in Washington, says she's "looking forward to being a mom." (By Helayne Seidman For The Washington Post)

Despite her years of war reporting, Logan has also drawn attention for her striking looks and provocative comments on such programs as "The Daily Show," where last month she demonstrated how she curses with soldiers. The British press often refers to her as a "former swimsuit model" because of part-time work she did as a student.

As the Iraq conflict dragged on, Logan grew apart from Siemon. The decision to separate was particularly hard for her because her own parents had divorced when she was 8. Siemon could not be reached for comment.

Last year, about two years after Logan and her husband had separated, she began a relationship with Michael Ware, a CNN correspondent in Iraq. Shortly after that romance ended in November, she started dating Burkett, a friend she had met years earlier when both were working in Afghanistan.

Despite his government contracting duties, Logan says, "we always respect each other's boundaries. We agreed never to talk about our work."

At the time, Burkett was separated from his wife of 3 1/2 years. He had been in Afghanistan and Iraq, away from their Texas home, for most of Kimberly Burkett's pregnancy and most of their marriage, according to a family friend who declined to be identified because of a confidentiality agreement in the divorce case. The friend said the marriage had long been rocky and that Kimberly Burkett had asked for a divorce several times. Joseph Burkett would not be interviewed.

In January, Burkett flew home to file for divorce, and acknowledged to his wife that he had begun a relationship with Logan. Kimberly, 32, was hospitalized after taking an overdose of tranquilizers, according to the family friend.

At a court hearing that month, Joseph Burkett told the judge he was having an extramarital affair, and his attorney said that was not the reason for the divorce.

The National Enquirer reported last month on what the tabloid called Logan's "torrid affair with a married man." Kimberly Burkett's lawyer, Susie Chmielowiec, told the supermarket tabloid that "Kimberly believes Lara stole her husband -- and now they're trying to steal her little girl." The divorce case includes a custody dispute between Burkett and his wife.

Chmielowiec and Burkett's lawyer, Jonathan Cluck, did not respond to requests for comment. The Enquirer quoted Kimberly Burkett last week as saying that "Lara Logan deserves to be canned" and that her CBS promotion is "a slap in the face to everyone who believes in marriage."

Carole Cooper, Logan's agent, says the publicity has been unpleasant. "It has been difficult for her but she's coping fine," she says. "She's a strong woman."

Logan became pregnant shortly before leaving Baghdad in April, although she did not know it at the time, and flew to New York to sign a new contract that would compensate her for her expanded responsibilities in Washington. Logan had spent the previous two months involved in negotiations that freed a kidnapped CBS videographer, Richard Butler, and says she felt that Iraq had become too dangerous for her. But she still hopes to report from there in the future.

The pregnancy was unplanned. Logan says she lost one of her fallopian tubes during an ectopic pregnancy years ago and believed at her age it was highly unlikely that she could get pregnant. The news came at a time when she was looking to change her life. At CBS, Logan says, "they let me run around the world doing everything I want to do. It's a dream job, but it comes at a cost.

"Since 9/11, I've spent 95 percent of my time on the road, and I do need to have a home at some point. I do need to settle down. I've been living like a refugee."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."