NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SiriusXM announced today that Ann Romney, the former First Lady of Massachusetts, will be the featured guest on the next installment of the "SiriusXM Leading Ladies" special series, which offers candid conversations with influential and inspiring women who have forged their own paths to leadership and success.

In a conversation with SiriusXM's Press Pool host Julie Mason, Mrs. Romney discussed her experiences living with multiple sclerosis and her compelling new memoir, In This Together: My Story. The event took place at SiriusXM's Washington, D.C. headquarters and will debut on P.O.T.U.S. (channel 124) on Friday, October 9^th at 3:00pm ET.

In addition to being a powerful voice in her husband Mitt Romney's 2012 run for the White House, Mrs. Romney has been an outspoken figure for Americans living with chronic disease. In this one-hour special, Mrs. Romney opened up to Mason about how she first discovered she had MS and the impact it's had on her life. She also revealed that Jeb Bush did not push the Romneys out of the 2016 race, and the reason she turned down "Dancing with The Stars." Transcripts and audio clips from these highlights are below.

Did the Romney's strongly consider another presidential run in 2016?
"This second time, not really. It was a twenty second 'Put your toe in and then quick, pull it right back out.' Our boys called -- 'What are you doing?' It wasn't a serious – I don't know, it wasn't handled very well. I don't think Mitt and I handled that very well. But honestly, we did think about it for a minute. I want to say, though, people keep saying well 'Jeb Bush pushed you out.' No he didn't. It was a decision we made. It had nothing to do with anyone else talking to us about what was going on. It was a personal decision. And it was again, when we make these important decisions, we make it together, but we also we go with our gut. And our gut just didn't feel like it was right."
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1Z7yqiJ

The reason why she turned down "Dancing with the Stars" and her dream partner:
Romney: I got there, they brought me on set and everything, and they really, really twisted my arm and tried to get me to do it. And you know, in so many ways I wanted to do it, and I really thought that I would maybe make a week or two, but that stamina you need, I don't think I have the stamina. Plus, on top of that, I thought that people don't appreciate – I didn't even write in the book all the problems I have in my lower back with herniated discs and all of that – and I'm like, "I know what will happen. Two weeks out I'll be flat on my back with another disc gone." Really, it was the physical thing that kept me from doing it. But what fun. I love the show.

Mason: Who would be your dream partner?

Romney: The blonde kid. What's his name?...The regular on "Dancing with The Stars"...Derek. But he always wins. He always picks a partner that will win. I mean, this is gamed. I mean, c'mon, look at that, he doesn't get the 60-year-old woman. He gets the 20-year-old gold medal figure skater. So you kind of know that I wasn't going to be in the finals either. I'm competitive. Darn. I'd want to be in the finals.
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1MWS2zE

How Mrs. Romney discovered she had MS:
"It just sort of crept up on me. One summer, I remember my right leg was numb. Sort of the middle part of my right leg was numb, and I thought 'Well isn't that odd.' Didn't think much about it, and four months later or so I noticed it was gone. It wasn't numb anymore. But then a year later, all of a sudden, something was going on. And it was enormous fatigue. Enormous fatigue. It's hard to describe the fatigue. And as well, I was stumbling, I was tripping, I was having trouble going up stairs – like I would lose my balance. I felt like I needed to hang onto the wall sometimes like I was going to fall over. I had weakness, enormous weakness, and that numbness came back in my right leg. I had no idea what was wrong with me. Absolutely not a clue. I just knew there was something really wrong with me. And beyond everything else, it was the fatigue that was the most debilitating….It went on for like a couple of months and then I'm like 'I've got to do something about this. This isn't going away.' It's not like, okay, I had a flu – it's not going away, it's getting worse. My brother is a doctor, so he listened quietly and patiently, and said 'You have to see a neurologist.' And I did. And pretty quickly, I knew what was wrong."
AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1NjAYXm

The special will premiere Friday, October 9^th at 3:00pm ET and replay at 5:00pm and 10:00pm; Saturday at 1:00am, 2:00pm and 10:00pm ET; and Sunday at 6:00am and 11:00pm ET. The show will also be broadcast on Patriot channel (125) on Saturday at 1:00pm ET and Sunday at 8:00am ET; and on Stars channel (109) on Saturday, October 17^th at 8pm ET. In addition, the interview will be available via SiriusXM On Demand, through the SiriusXM App for smartphones and other mobile devices, and online at siriusxm.com.

For more information on SiriusXM, please visit www.siriusxm.com.

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