When it comes to the topic of presidential controversies, we are sure that there are several that come to mind in no time at all. People seem to know all about the stories about the mistresses of JFK, the sexual exploits of Bill Clinton, and more. However, you will be very surprised to hear about the ones that you never would have thought would partake in behavior like this! We are sure that we have already caught your attention with this. Let us hear about the things that you never learned in your history class…
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John F. Kennedy And Marilyn Monroe
This is probably the best-known presidential scandal in American history. However, the truth is that there is no actual proof that it happened. It is true that they met on a number of occasions, as well as reports that JFK asked the actress to come with him on holiday. Everything else spread through the grapevine. People say that once the POTUS got tired of the alleged relationship, she moved onto Robert, his brother. The 1962 Happy Birthday incident turned out to be her last appearance in public. An author called Norman Mailer later said that he is of the belief that the CIA murdered her thanks to the scandal.
John F. Kennedy And Marilyn Monroe
John F. Kennedy And Judith Campbell Exner
Most mistresses keep a low profile, but Judith Campbell Exner did not have any problems talking about her relationship with JFK. In fact, she even penned a memoir detailing it! According to a gossip columnist called Liz Smith, First Lady Jackie Kennedy was not even surprised to hear that the affair happened. In fact, she was allegedly intrigued by it and even read what the gossip columns had to say about Exner.
John F. Kennedy And Judith Campbell Exner
Bill Clinton And Paula Jones
Paula Jones used to be an Arkansas state clerk. She said that she suffered sexual harassment at the hands of Bill Clinton in 1991. At the time, he was serving as the governor. Eventually, she talked about this in public and sued him for not only sexual harassment but also public defamation. Things came to a halt when he settled things outside of court. He asked her to drop the claim and paid her $850,000 for it.
Bill Clinton And Paula Jones
Bill Clinton And Gennifer Flowers
Gennifer Flowers was an actress-model who said that she and Bill Clinton had an affair before he was sworn into office. At the time, she had been working for a news station based in Little Rock. According to her court statement, they had a relationship for 12 years. The POTUS only admitted to having one encounter with her in 1977. According to her, he tried to get in touch with her up until 2005. If you want to learn more about this, you should read her book. It is called Passion and Betrayal.
Bill Clinton And Gennifer Flowers
Donald Trump And Rachel Crooks
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, a number of women stepped forward and accused the current POTUS of sexual conduct. Rachel Crooks was one of them and said that Donald Trump grabbed her outside the elevator of his building back in 2005. She narrated, “He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek.” After this, she explained, “He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model. He wouldn’t let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips.” This revelation did not seem to have an impact on his campaign.
Donald Trump And Rachel Crooks
Bill Clinton And Markie Post
It was in 1998 that the National Enquirer ran a story about the relationship between Bill Clinton and Markie Post. According to the tabloid, the pair had “secret get-togethers in California hotels… several times.” She was a good friend of the Clinton couple and even stayed over at the White House on the night of his inauguration. However, she said that the two of them have never been alone together.
Bill Clinton And Markie Post
Bill Clinton And Elizabeth Gracen
This former Miss America claimed that she and Bill Clinton had a one-night stand all the way back in 1983. At the time, they were both married to other people. The word about the affair came out in 1992, although she denied these allegations. In 1998, however, she recanted her denials and went public with it. She got a subpoena from Kenneth Starr to testify in court, but she did not end up doing it.
Bill Clinton And Elizabeth Gracen
Bill Clinton And Monica Lewinsky
This is definitely one of the most famous presidential controversies out there. Monica Lewinsky was 22 years old and working as an intern at the White House when she engaged in a relationship with Bill Clinton. It went on from 1995 until 1997. We bet that you already know that he denied the allegations. However, he eventually recanted this during his grand jury testimony.
Bill Clinton And Monica Lewinsky
Donald Trump And Stormy Daniels
Before the elections in 2016, an adult film actress by the name of Stormy Daniels received $130,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement about what happened between her and Donald Trump a decade before. With a lawyer and publicist as witnesses, she later signed a statement that denied that they had a relationship. In 2018, word got out about what transpired when Michael Cohen was put on trial.
Donald Trump And Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump And Karen McDougal
According to Karen McDougal, she and Donald Trump had a relationship for ten months from 2006 to 2007. At the time, he was married to Melania. The Playboy model said that she ended it since she felt guilty. Prior to the 2016 election, the National Enquirer paid her $150,000 to “buy and bury” the story.
Donald Trump And Karen McDougal
George H. W. Bush And Jennifer Fitzgerald
Many people would be shocked to see this one. After all, George and Barbara Bush seemed smitten with each other! He even said that they had a “storybook” marriage more than once. On the other hand, Barbara told the press that he had always been a loving and supportive partner. Even though they had nice things to say about each other, he and his personal aide actually had an affair for decades.
George H. W. Bush And Jennifer Fitzgerald
Abraham Lincoln And Joshua Speed
In 1837, Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed met while he was a candidate for the Illinois legislature. The two of them became roommates when Lincoln sublet Speed’s apartment. For four years, the two men shared a bed. A lot of people questioned the sexuality of the president for this, and it remains a point of contention. Aside from Speed, he was also said to have engaged in an affair with David Derickson, who was his bodyguard. The two of them got into bed together when his wife Mary was not around.
Abraham Lincoln And Joshua Speed
Bill Clinton And Elizabeth Hurley
In 2014, Radar Online ran a story that said that there was a time when Bill Clinton ordered a plane to fetch Elizabeth Hurley so that they can have a rendezvous. This came out after Tom Sizemore said that the former POTUS bullied him into sharing the number of the actress. It is said that this took place sometime in 1998. However, she took to Twitter to deny the claims. She said, “Ludicrously silly stories about me & Bill Clinton. Totally untrue. In the hands of my lawyers. Yawn.”
Bill Clinton And Elizabeth Hurley
Bill Clinton And Sally Perdue
This beauty queen is also known for hosting a local radio talk show. According to her, she had an affair with Bill Clinton while he was serving as the governor of the state in 1983. It is fascinating to hear that she is one of three Miss Arkansas titleholders to be linked to him. She claimed that, in 1992, a democratic staffer asked her to keep mum on the affair. As a matter of fact, she explained, “They knew that I went jogging by myself and he couldn’t guarantee what would happen to my pretty little legs.”
Bill Clinton And Sally Perdue
George Washington And Venus
In 1784, a slave called Venus had a mixed-race child on the plantation owned by John Augustine, the half-brother of George Washington. She called the child Was Ford, and he received special treatment. Hannah, the wife of Augustine, said in her will that the child should be freed and receive training in a trade. According to his descendants, George Washington was the father of the freed slave. However, there is no proof aside from the oral history of the family. Historians do not support this theory because there was no indication that the first President of the United States ever went to the plantation.
George Washington And Venus
John F. Kennedy And Ellen Rometsch
As you might have noticed, John F. Kennedy had a number of flings with both White House staffers and Hollywood socialites. However, one of the biggest scandals had to do with Ellen Rometsch. She was a gorgeous party girl in Washington D.C. that caught his eye. There are also rumors that she was a communist spy! The CIA investigated and later deported her “because of her behavior in Washington.”
John F. Kennedy And Ellen Rometsch
Dwight D. Eisenhower And Kay Summersby
This former model served as the aide of Dwight Eisenhower during the Second World War. At first, the two of them denied ever having an intimate relationship. However, Kay Summersby later said that this was a lie in her book. It is called Past Forgetting: My Love Affair With Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Dwight D. Eisenhower And Kay Summersby
Bill Clinton And Eleanor Mondale
There are rumors that Bill Clinton engaged in an affair with Eleanor Mondale. She is the daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale! The grapevine says that it took place in the oval office around the same time that he was seeing Monica Lewinsky. It is interesting to hear that there are reports saying that Lewinsky felt jealous after finding out that she was not his only mistress back then.
Bill Clinton And Eleanor Mondale
John F. Kennedy And Angie Dickinson
Here is another rumored relationship that has been going around for a while even though there was no evidence of it. A biography of John F. Kennedy said that the movie star talked about the alleged affair in this way: “It was the best 20 seconds of my life.” Angie Dickinson later said that they were just rumors.
John. F. Kennedy And Angie Dickinson
Woodrow Wilson And Mary Peck
While in Bermuda on a holiday without his wife, Woodrow Wilson met a socialite called Mary Peck. They hit it off right away. Over the next couple of years, he wrote more than 200 letters addressed to her. He said that it was not a physical relationship and that they were just very good friends. However, people have been skeptical about that since his letters started with, “My precious one, my beloved Mary.”
Woodrow Wilson And Mary Peck
John F. Kennedy And Mimi Alford
The truth is that Monica Lewinsky was not the first intern at the White House to find herself in that position. In 1962, John F. Kennedy engaged in a tryst with a 19-year-old girl called Mimi Alford. It went on for 18 months. If you want to hear the details, you should check out her memoir. Once Upon a Secret: My Affair With John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath was published in 2012 under the title,
John F. Kennedy And Mimi Alford
Lyndon B. Johnson And Madeleine Brown
LBJ had his own indiscretions as well. In fact, reports even say that his wife Lady Bird even caught him with someone in the Oval Office! While many mistresses remain on the down low, Madeline Brown had no problems going public about the story. According to her, the two of them saw each other for over twenty years and had a son together. Later on, she said that he was involved in the assassination of JFK.
Lyndon B. Johnson And Madeleine Brown
Lyndon B. Johnson And Alice Glass
Alice Glass must be the most famous “girlfriend” of Lyndon B. Johnson. She was the wife of one of the most generous political donors of his. They had an affair that went on for a number of years until it eventually ended. She was so gorgeous and glamorous that Lady Bird Johnson allegedly began to wear more makeup, jewelry, and provocative clothing to compete with her rival!
Lyndon B. Johnson And Alice Glass
Lyndon B. Johnson And Helen G. Douglas
Up next, we have Helen G. Douglas, another former lover of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the past, she said that he had more women by accident than John F. Kennedy did on purpose! She was an actress who later served on the congress. The affair was an “open secret” among members of the Washington press and Capitol Hill insiders. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Elizabeth Moss can play her in a movie!
Lyndon B. Johnson And Helen G. Douglas
Grover Cleveland And Maria Crofts Halpin
During his presidential campaign, a report came out that Grover Cleveland had an affair and had a lovechild that he was supporting in the financial sense of the word. He admitted that, a decade ago, he had a relationship with a woman while he was still a bachelor. However, he also said that she was already committed before she gave birth and had been with more men. Even though he was unsure that it was his child, he gave the boy a good home and supported him. Maria Halpin told a different story. According to her, it had been non-consensual and violent. She said that she did not wish to ever see Grover Cleveland again, although she eventually came to him for help when she fell pregnant. Sadly, they took her son away and locked her up in an institution for no good reason. What a horrible story.
Grover Cleveland And Maria Crofts Halpin
James Buchanan And William Rufus King
If you know your history, you are probably aware that James Buchanan was the only bachelor to become the President of the United States. Some people believe that he was the first gay president too! The speculation came about thanks to his relationship with William Rufus King, who served on the congress with him and never married either. The two lived together and went to functions with each other. In fact, people jokingly called them “Mr. Buchanan and his wife” or “Aunt Nancy and Aunt Fancy.”
James Buchanan And William Rufus King
Warren G. Harding And Nan Britton
Nan Britton said that she and Warren G. Harding had an affair while he was serving on the United States Senate. She claimed that it kept going on until he passed away in 1923. Four years after his sudden death, she wrote a book about their relationship and said that he was the father of her daughter. He did not acknowledge it before he died, but this was proven true with the results of a DNA test.
Warren G. Harding And Nan Britton
Warren G. Harding And Carrie Fulton Phillips
Both Warren G. Harding and Carrie Fulton Phillips were married when they embarked on a fair together. In fact, the couples would even go to Europe together! When the affair was discovered, they split up and she even moved to Germany for a little while. They ended up getting back together when she returned to the United States. In an effort to stop the press from finding out, his political advisors bribed her and her husband with a tour of Asia and the Pacific while he was running for president. On top of that, she was also given an annual stipend!
Warren G. Harding And Carrie Fulton Phillips
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
There has been a lot of debate about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. People think that it was a complicated romance, but it is hard to believe that it was consensual because she was his slave. It started when she accompanied his daughter to France during his service as an ambassador. Over there, she was deemed free and made a living wage under his employ. When he had to go back to Virginia, she did not want to come since she enjoyed her freedom in Paris. He asked her to come to him and resorted “to induce her to do so he promised her extraordinary privileges, and made a solemn pledge that her children should be freed at the age of 21 years.” The worst part about this was that she did not regain her freedom when they got back to the United States.
Thomas Jefferson And Sally Hemings
Franklin D. Roosevelt And Lucy Mercer
The alleged affair between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer sparked more affairs for these two in the White House. She was working as the personal secretary of First Lady Eleanor at the time. Instead of getting a divorce, she grew tough and asked them never to see each other again. It is said that she later talked to Lorena Hickock when FDR was engaged in an affair with an assistant called Missy LeHand.
Franklin D. Roosevelt And Lucy Mercer
James A. Garfield And Lucia Calhoun
Even though James A. Garfield was already married to Lucretia, who is shown below, he took a young reporter to bed. Lucia Calhoun was only 18 years old when they started to see each other. After finding out about their relationship, Lucretia gave her husband an ultimatum. He called off the affair after that.
James A. Garfield And Lucia Calhoun
John Tyler And His Slaves
Did you know that John Tyler was the President of the United States who had the most children? He was married twice and had 15 kids. However, keep in mind that this number only pertains to those born under wedlock. The horrible truth was that he had more children with his slaves on top of that.
John Tyler And His Slaves