JFK Family Secrets
Throughout President John F. Kennedy’s presidency, multiple media outlets reported many potential family scandals.
Affairs
Kennedy was accused of having affairs with many other women during his presidency, one of them being Judith Exner, who claimed to have been Kennedy’s mistress. According to “People Magazine,” Exner claimed she had an abortion after she became pregnant with the President’s child. The alleged mistress told “People” in a 1988 interview that Kennedy was very concerned about her feelings and was kind and considerate. Gossip columnist Liz Smith, known as the “Grand Dame of Dish,” often wrote about the alleged affair and revealed in her 1977 memoir that First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was unsurprised yet interested in what she wrote. The alleged affair between Kennedy and Exner has been examined for decades, yet no definitive answer has been reached.
Marilyn Monroe
One of Kennedy’s most infamous scandals and not-so concealed family secrets, is his alleged affair with actress and model, Marilyn Monroe. According to “People Magazine” from the year 1961 when Kennedy took office, Kennedy’s wife, First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, potentially knew about her husband’s interactions with Monroe. For uncertain reasons, The First Lady chose to look the other way. The evidence that has been uncovered to support this first surfaced when Monroe performed Happy Birthday for the president on May 19, 1962 at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser. The relationship between the President and Monroe has never been confirmed nor refuted, but many speculate that the two were more than acquaintances.
Kennedy’s Father
A highly discussed rumor regarding the Kennedy family revolves around Kennedy’s father, Joe Kennedy, for being involved with a notorious Sicilian-American mobster Sam Giancana. According to National Geographic, Joe Kennedy and Giancana were involved in the boot- legging business during prohibition in the 1920s. Also, Giancana allegedly was a donor to the 1960s presidential campaign, and he may have secretly helped Kennedy win the 1960 Primary in West Virginia. Whether this was true or not has remained unknown due to the death of Giancana in 1975.