Culture

The 29 Most Scandalous Presidential Affairs In U.S. History.

The 29 Most Scandalous Presidential Affairs In U.S. History. January 15, 2020

Marilyn Monroe is one of the biggest icons to appear in movies. But although her film career put her in the limelight, her affair with JFK in Palm Springs put her in a tight spot. The supposed lovebirds spent time in Bing Crosby’s vacation home in California. But after their first encounter, Marilyn supposedly gave Jackie Kennedy a ring and told her she was sleeping with her husband. Of course, Jackie wasn’t shocked and suggested to Marilyn that she marry her husband so she could deal with all the White House mayhem.

JFK rubbed elbows with the Rat Pack, as well as a number of other celebs. In fact, while in Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra allegedly played matchmaker and introduced Judith to JFK. Eventually, Exner told the press that she had an affair with the President. But “reckless” was the only word she could use to describe JFK.

In a Little Rock, Arkansas hotel, Clinton allegedly slept with Paula Jones in 1991. Jones had intended to discuss his campaign when Clinton put the moves on her, and was rejected. Jones was so upset that she sued Clinton for sexual harassment. But Jones and her lawyers dropped the lawsuit after Clinton paid her off a sum of $850,000.

The actress and former model allegedly had an affair with Clinton before he became president, at least, according to her. Flowers worked at a Little Rock news station when she and Clinton started sleeping together. In a court statement, she claimed that her affair with Bill continued for 12 years. Flowers published her book, “Passion and Betrayal,” where she talks about her experiences with Clinton and that he continued reaching out to her until 2005.

Between the 80s and the early 90s, Post was pretty popular for starring in the sitcom, “Night Court.” And in 1993, the actress had a hand in a Disney Channel production relating to the inauguration of Bill Clinton. Naturally, the two became close, and Post became one of the White House’s Earliest guests under the Clinton Administration. Eventually, rumors swirled that Bill and Markie were doing the deed. Supposedly, their secret encounters happened when Clinton would go to California.

Gracen wasn’t just an actress. She modeled too. She also won the 1981 Miss Arkansas Beauty Pageant. Eventually she won Miss America, which drew Bill Clinton’s attention because he was an Arkansas politician. The two met at some point, and decided to stay in touch, even though she moved to New York to pursue acting. But during her time in New York, Gracen claims that she and Bill had a one-night stand. Of course, this was before he took office.

The biggest scandal occurred when everyone learned of the affair between Lewinsky and Clinton. Monica was 21, and an intern when the affair began. Initially, Clinton lied about the affair, but an investigation revealed overwhelming evidence, and he eventually admitted the truth.

To most Republicans, President Bush is pretty much untarnished by scandal. But during his presidency, he had one or two skeletons in his closet. Bush allegedly slept with Fitzgerald, his chief deputy of protocol while in office. One of Clinton’s aides supposedly learned the truth, but neither Fitzgerald nor Bush have fessed up. However, Washington insiders seemed to believe the claims are true.

One of the greatest presidents in U.S. history was Abraham Lincoln. But most school teachers never told their students about Lincoln and Joshua Speed, his roommate. According to rumors, Lincoln and Speed lived together for four years, and the two were reportedly an item. Another affair was said to have happened with David Derickson, his bodyguard.

Clinton and actress Elizabeth Hurley supposedly started an affair in 1998, when he sent a plane to fly her back to the White House. The alleged affair lasted a full year, which started when she was given a personal tour of the White House. But at Lincoln’s bedroom, things got pretty steamy.

Sally Perdue, also known as Sally Miller, got star treatment from Clinton, when he was the Arkansas governor. He allegedly played the saxophone and danced around for her.

JFK limited his affairs to co-workers in Washington or Hollywood’s elite. But his affair with Ellen Romestch, a German prostitute who looked a bit like Liz Taylor, was considered the most reckless. She allegedly visited the White House a lot, and went to pool parties that were totally scandalous. Her presence was disruptive and Kennedy’s brother even threatened her with deportation.

During World War II, the former model became Eisenhower’s personal driver. They had met before he was president, while deployed in Great Britain. According to Summersby book, “Past Forgetting: My Love Affair With Dwight D. Eisenhower,” she and Eisenhower continued to get very close until they decided to shift their relationship to a more intimate one.

When it came to having affairs, Clinton didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He cheated on his wife Hillary, with former Vice President Walter Mondale’s daughter, Eleanor. We know this because she allegedly kept a detailed diary about every encounter she had with Clinton.

JFK didn’t limit his affairs to actress Marilyn Monroe. He also allegedly slept with Angie Dickinson, also an actress, while he was still president. Hollywood circles of that time period were aware of the affair and talked about it a lot. But despite this, Dickinson never owned up to the fact that she slept with JFK, and neither did he.

After a death in the family, Woodrow Wilson was having marital issues with Ellen, his wife, back in 1907. Woodrow headed off to Bermuda, and he took Mary Peck with him. The two had an affair, which Ellen claims only happened once but gave her grief. Woodrow at least had the decency to feel bad about it. But after Ellen’s death, he tried getting it on with another woman by the name of Edith Galt.

George Washington was the first U.S. president, but he wasn’t as honest with his wife as we all thought. He allegedly slept with Venus, a slave, and they had a son named Wes Ford. However, descendants of Washington and Ford have refused to undergo DNA testing, but historians certainly back up these rumors.

Everyone knows that JFK had a bunch of affairs. In fact, his reputation with women is legendary, particularly his affair with Mimi Alford. When he first took office, JFK allegedly started having an affair with the 19-year-old intern. Things seemed to be going quite well between the two, until JFK decided to end things after 18 months.

Johnson was well known for being disrespectful to women. He was also a reported womanizer too. But unlike other presidents, who made their indiscretions known, Johnson kept his intimate affairs under wraps. But of the many partners he had over the years, Madeleine Brown was fairly known. Aside from having an affair that lasted 21 years, the two made a song together called Steven.

Lady Bird, who was Johnson’s wife, worked side by side with Glass, during her hubby’s presidential campaign. But even though Johnson was already sleeping around with Madeleine Brown, he also had a long-lasting relationship with Glass. When Lady Bird caught the two, she reportedly attacked Glass. But after years of being the wife of a cheater, Lady Bird just couldn’t do it anymore.

Johnson was a lady’s man and a womanizer even before he took office. He had affairs that lasted a long time, but he kept them hidden at the time from everyone, except, his wife. While he was still a U.S. congressman, Johnson had a scandalous affair with Helen G. Douglas, who was ironically, a congresswoman herself.

During the 1884 elections, Grover Cleveland kept lots of secrets, like his affair with Maria Crofts Halpin in New York, which led to a child. Halpin often visited Cleveland’s law office. But Halpin allegedly didn’t know if Cleveland was her baby’s father. It was Cleveland’s opponent, James Blane who spilled the beans. And years later, we learned that Grover provided Halpin with child support.

When Buchanan’s wife passed away, he moved in with his future Vice President, William Rufus King, who was also his friend. The two claimed their relationship was a “communion,” and went to social functions together. Andrew Jackson allegedly called the two Aunt Fancy and Miss Nancy. But when King passed away, Buchanan, kept a journal about his personal life and his service while in the White House.

JFK and Bill Clinton look like angels compared to President Harding’s reputation. Although his three years as president was certainly short, he had a bunch of affairs. One of the most scandalous affairs involved him and Nan Britton. He allegedly made a child with Britton before he even became president, but the truth came out in 1928, once he was actually in the White House as president.

Although Harding and Phillips were married to other people, they still had an affair. They even brought their partners along during trips to Europe and slept with each other behind their SO’s backs. Phillips eventually told Harding’s wife, Florence about the affair. Florence wasn’t shocked and admitted that her husband had slept with other women before. Harding denied the whole thing, especially after she managed to blackmail him. Eventually, the truth became known to the public.

Jefferson and Hemings’ affair was legendary because she was a slave, which made the whole thing a huge interracial scandal. The affair was looked down on because Hemings was black. But the two supposedly had six kids, but only four children managed to survive and were set free. And while Jefferson owned slaves, he was against slavery, for the obvious fact that his kids were slaves.

Roosevelt was considered an honorable president. He got the U.S. through World War II and Pearl Harbor. But, he slept with Lucy Mercer, his secretary. Eventually, his wife, Eleanor, learned off the affair after she found Mercer’s love letters to her husband. Eleanor wanted to get divorced, but the two stayed together for his political career. Ironically, Mercer and Roosevelt continued to sleep together, even though everyone knew. She was allegedly with him in bed when he passed away.

Garfield got involved with Calhoun, an 18-year-old reporter. He allegedly was a huge fan of the reporter’s work, which eventually led to a face to face encounter. Eventually, his wife learned that the two were sleeping together. Garfield was then given an ultimatum. He could stay with Calhoun or his wife. He chose the latter, and the two remained married while he was in office.

During his political career, Tyler got married twice. He also holds the record for having fathered 15 legitimate children, the most of any U.S. president so far. But of course, rumors claim that he had more children through various affairs. Tyler had allegedly slept with lots of slaves during his time as president. While it wouldn’t be possible to track all of his descendants because his slaves got sold, there’s still a recorded oral history about his tawdry affair with his slaves.