引摘一段關於Michael Schiavo and his new girlfriend Jodi:(Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times)
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....They met by chance at a dentist's office.
Neither was searching for love, friends say.

She had been through a divorce.

His wife lived in a nursing home.

The years had left him heartbroken and lonely, friends say.

He bonded with the new woman over dinners and long talks. It was complicated, but they fell in love, friends say.

Still, Michael Schiavo has always made it very clear:

"He has one wife, and her name is Terri," said a family friend, GloriaCentonze. "He does not refer to anyone else as his wife, and never has."

How, then, to explain Jodi?
Jodi Centonze, 40, is Michael Schiavo's live-in girlfriend, mother of their two children, 1 and 21/2 years old.

Centonze occupies a peculiar role in the national debate over TerriSchiavo - in the middle of it, but never a public part of it.

"She wants to stay out of it," said her brother, John Centonze. "She says this is not about her, it's about Terri."

Yet she has been anathematized, her name invoked as a key reason whySchiavo, 41, should not control his wife's fate. Outside Terri'shospice, protesters hold signs that say, "Michael don't plan thewedding yet, we still have hope!" and "Arrest Mike for bigamy."

Schiavo has moved on, his opponents say, and should give Terri back toher parents. "Remaining married to him is an embarrassment," said DavidGibbs III, the lawyer for Terri's parents. He tried unsuccessfully toget Terri a divorce last month, accusing Schiavo of "open adultery."

Schiavo's opponents have directed much vitriol toward Jodi Centonze,threatening her life and her two children. In dozens of letters mailedto the couple's Countryside home, some critics have called her a whoreand her children bastards, relatives say.

Through it all, Centonze has remained quietly by Schiavo's side. Shewas there long before the television cameras, before Terri's conditionbecame a national obsession.

Jodi Centonze has visited Terri, shopped for her, washed her clothes,relatives say. She has accepted her role as the other woman, andbelieves Michael Schiavo has enough room in his heart for both,relatives say.

"She knows she was not his first choice," said one of Schiavo'sfriends, Russ Hyden of Gainesville. "But we don't always get to choose."

After all, he wasn't her first choice, either.

Jodi Centonze met Michael Schiavo at a dentist's office, her brother said.

"Neither one of them was looking to meet anyone," John Centonze said."And it wasn't something they just did. They weren't really togetherfor a couple of years after they met."

Michael Schiavo had been an "emotional wreck" after his wife collapsed, he said in a 2000 trial.

Terri, the woman who had charmed him on first meeting, could no longerwalk, eat or talk. She lay listless in a hospital bed, turned every twohours to avoid bedsores.

Schiavo was there for more than 130 doctor visits, through Terri'surinary tract infections, for the amputation of her left little toe,the removal of her gall bladder. He had been, a state judge noted, hermost regular visitor.

Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, agreed he was a devotedhusband and encouraged him to date other women, according to courtrecords and relatives.

"It was only a couple of weeks before Bob Schindler was saying Mikeneeded to get on with his life," said Schiavo's brother, Scott. "Thatwas the farthest thing from Mike's mind."

But as months turned into years, Schiavo lost hope.

He decided to date about three years after Terri collapsed, Schiavo's lawyer said during the 2000 trial.

"It took Michael a long time to consider the prospect of getting onwith his life - something he was actively encouraged to do by theSchindlers, long before enmity tore them apart," Jay Wolfson, a formerguardian of Terri, wrote in a 2003 report to Gov. Jeb Bush.

"He was even encouraged by the Schindlers to date, and introduced his in-law family to women he was dating," Wolfson wrote.

That was all before the Schiavos received about a $1-millionmalpractice verdict, stemming from the potassium imbalance that led toher current state. The award began a long-running feud with his in-lawsover money and Terri's care.

The Schindlers began accusing their son-in-law of trying to kill Terriso he could keep the settlement money and marry his new girlfriend.

Schiavo said he didn't care about the money and offered to donate it to charity.
....
Jodi Centonze was conflicted about whether to date Michael Schiavo, her brother said.

She wanted her oldest brother's opinion, and asked him to meet Schiavofor dinner at an Italian restaurant in Feather Sound. That was about 10years ago, before most anyone knew of Terri Schiavo.

"I grilled Mike," John Centonze recalled. "I asked him all thesequestions: What's up, you're married? Why do you want to see my sister?"

Schiavo explained his wife was in a nursing home, and that she wouldn'twant to live like that, John Centonze said. Schiavo said he had moneyfrom a lawsuit and was doing everything he could for Terri.

"I could see he was very uneasy, very scared," John Centonze said. "Hehad spent four to five years by himself. He seemed lonely andheartbroken."

Schiavo always made it clear he was still in love with Terri, relatives say.

"Mike still has a lot of emotions for Terri," John Centonze said."People make him out to be this mean guy, and he's nothing like that atall."

Jodi Centonze knew what she was getting into, her brother said.

"From the beginning she knew the situation," her brother said. "He toldher, if you have a problem with this, this is what I'm going to do. I'mgoing to fulfill her wishes, and carry it out until the end.

"She's there for him 100 percent," Centonze's brother said.

Family members get angry when people accuse Schiavo of physically abusing Terri.

"If he was that way, my sister would have kicked him to the curb," JohnCentonze said. "She doesn't take crap from anyone. ... If Mike was thatway, he could never be with my sister. She don't play."

It has been complicated, relatives say, but the family accepts and supports their relationship.

"Sometimes I feel as if it's almost a spiritual thing, like Terri sent Jodi to him," said Schiavo's brother, Scott.

Some relatives compare Michael Schiavo to a man who has lost his wifeto Alzheimer's disease. He is devoted, but wants a companion.

"Life is lonely," said Gloria Centonze, Jodi's sister-in-law. "People need a reason to get up in the morning."

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