The advertisement begins in a bright kitchen. A woman wearing a dark blue shirt and a simple golden necklace pours a cup coffee, speaks to the camera and has a Bible in front of her.

In the two-minute spot, released last week, she introduces herself as Yolanda. “Lord, you’ve probably heard a lot about my husband Mark.”

Rarely do you hear the voice and character of North Carolina’s Second Lady, who played this week the role of the political wife defending the character of her husband in the wake of a scandal. Mark, the Mark mentioned in her ad, is Lt. Governor. Mark Robinson is pushing forward with his governorship campaign after CNN reported that, more than 10 years ago, he posted disturbing comments on a pornographic site, including one where he called himself a “black NAZI.”

Most participants in a political trivia game would have difficulty recalling the name of the second lady of their state. In North Carolina however, the wife to the lieutenant-governor is better known.

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Ms. Robinson (56), is often seen at her husband’s campaign stops. She will kiss him on occasion before he gives a speech at events and rallies. She has been on the campaign trail since the CNN report. During Mr. Robinson’s brief political career, Ms. Robinson has also attracted attention for ventures which have run into legal problems. One of these — a non-profit — was shut down this year after an investigation forced it to pay $132,000 back to a state agency.

Chris Cooper, professor of political sciences and public affairs at Western Carolina University and director of the Haire Institute for Public Policy, said that it was unusual to know her name. It tells us she’s been involved in nearly as many controversy as her husband.

Requests for comments for this article from representatives of Mr. Robinson’s Campaign were not answered. Ms. Robinson declined comment.

According to New York Magazine, the couple met through a mutual acquaintance shortly after Mr. Robinson had dropped out of school and started working at Sbarro fast-food restaurant. The couple married in 1990, and have two children, a son named Dayson after Mr. Robinson’s father and a girl, Kimberly.

The couple was struggling with money. Mr. Robinson worked in furniture manufacturing as well as other odd jobs. In their early years of marriage, the couple in their 30s filed for bankruptcy on three occasions: 1998, 1999, and 2003. They were evicted in 2012 for not paying their rent.

Kermit Robinson said that their former landlord was quoted as saying, “His attitude wasn’t ‘I can’t pay’, it was more ‘I don’t have to pay’.”

In a statement made to WRAL in August 2023, a Raleigh-based news station, Mr. Robinson’s representatives acknowledged the eviction. They also blamed the landlord, who had not followed the legal procedure to recover the rent owed by the couple.

Ms. Robinson has a Master’s in Accounting from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She tried to alleviate her family’s financial problems. In 2000, she opened a daycare, Precious beginnings. She then founded a nonprofit organization to help child-care facilities receive federal funding for healthy meals.

In his book, “We Are The Majority : The Life and passions of a Patriot,” Robinson stated that the nonprofit Balanced Nutrition run by his wife gave him the financial stability to enter politics. In 2018, a video showing him speaking out in support of gun rights in a Greensboro City Council Meeting went viral. He entered the Republican nomination for lieutenant-governor in 2018.

Brant Clifton is the editor of The Daily Haymaker – a conservative comment site that focuses on North Carolina politics. “He is the brawn and she is the brain.”

The young couple took a risk early in their relationship that they never imagined would have a national political impact more than 20 year later.

A social media user discovered a Facebook comment from Mr. Robinson ten years ago, when he wrote that he paid for an abortion of the couple a year before their marriage.

He wrote: “I don’t say abortion is wrong because I said it, but that God says so.” It’s wrong if others do it, and it was also wrong when I paid to have it done to my unborn baby in 1989.

The scandal shook North Carolina politics. Mr. Robinson was an anti-abortion elected official who had made a number of extreme statements about abortion.

In an opinion piece in The Raleigh News & Observer, Mr. Robinson was referred to as a “moral scam.”

The second woman appeared at her husband’s side in order to calm down the anger.

In a video that was posted on Mr. Robinson’s Facebook page in March of 2022, both appeared with the lieutenant-governor as he addressed the issue of abortion. As her husband explained how they had made the wrong decision, Ms. Robinson just looked at him and said nothing.

In March of this past year, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services began a review of Balanced Nutrition. This nonprofit was an intermediary for federal funds and child care centers that were seeking funding to provide affordable meals.

The agency found that Balanced Nutrition had billed the state incorrectly on behalf of an unfunded child care center.

In a July letter, the agency also noted “serious shortcomings” in the nonprofit organization’s operations, including the finding that Balanced Nutrition acted inappropriately by paying Ms. Robinson’s daughter, without disclosing their relationship and without obtaining approval from the state agency.

Ms. Robinson closed her nonprofit abruptly in the spring citing the time commitment required by her husband’s election campaign. Local media reported the closure occurred shortly after Ms. Robinson was informed of the investigation by the state.

The couple had a similar experience: In 2007, before Balanced Nutrition, Ms. Robinson, who owned a daycare center, sold it after an investigation by the state found that inspectors were given falsified documentation.

In 2003, Girl Scouts Tarheel Triad Council (a group of Girl Scouts troop in North Carolina) sued Ms. Robinson and won in small claims court for a bounced cheque.

How do you get into trouble with the Girl Scouts?