The Florida judge who decided where Anna Nicole Smith would be buried came across on TV as a character, and his wife says that's just how he is.

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Broward County Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin ran the hearing with one-liners, revelations and emotion. He cried as he announced his decision that 5-month-old Dannielynn should receive her mother's body.

He announced skepticism during the proceedings by saying he wasn't looking to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. He discussed his exercise routine.

His demeanor raised eyebrows in the legal community, and questions about whether he overstepped judicial lines, several media outlets reported.

But his wife, Belinda, told ABC that's how Seidlin is -- his emotional outbursts show how much the Smith case affected him.

"He was exhausted at night," she said. "He would work on the case, sit around and think about it, write things down. He's a very tough guy, but certain things (about the case) really affected him -- this child, particularly, and the way the mother passed away."