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Several US presidents are believed to have had extramarital affairs, and of course, a few are more famous than others. While some are believed to have been in decade-long relationships, others had quick flings at the White House. From Bill Clinton's case with Monica Lewinsky to John F. Kennedy’s many escapades, and Donald Trump's alleged relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels; scandalous affair allegations and US presidents aren't anything new.
Click on for a history of US presidents who've allegedly engaged in infidelity.
Several US presidents are believed to have had extramarital affairs, and of course, a few are more famous than others. While some are believed to have been in decade-long relationships, others had quick flings at the White House. From Bill Clinton's case with Monica Lewinsky to John F. Kennedy’s many escapades, and Donald Trump's alleged relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels; scandalous affair allegations and US presidents aren't anything new.
Click on for a history of US presidents who've allegedly engaged in infidelity.
The seventh president of the US, Jackson came under fire for his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards. The two wed before her divorce from her previous husband was finalized.
Serving from March 1881 until his assassination in September 1881, Garfield was alleged to have carried out an extramarital affair while he was a Civil War general in 1862.
Roosevelt, who was in office from 1933 until his death in 1945, had a longtime affair with his wife's secretary.
Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt (pictured) in 1905. He later engaged in a romantic affair with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, who became Eleanor's social secretary in 1914.
When Eleanor discovered about the affair in 1918 after finding Rutherfurd's letters, she offered him a divorce, but his mother didn't allow it. There's some evidence Roosevelt's affair with Rutherfurd likely continued during his presidency.
The 34th president, who served from 1953 to 1961, was married to his wife, Mamie, from 1916 to his death in 1969.
However, there were rumors for years that he had an affair with his driver, Kay Summersby, while serving as a World War II general.
The allegations got even more attention, when President Harry S. Truman said Eisenhower wrote to a general, asking to return to the US to divorce Mamie so that he could marry Summersby. She would later detail the relationship after his death.
Kennedy, who was the 35th president, had a number of high-profile, rumored affairs, most notably with movie star Marilyn Monroe.
Married to Jacqueline Kennedy, the former first lady was aware of the rumors. While she was giving a French reporter a tour of the presidential home, she passed by one of the secretaries' desks and said in French: "This is the girl who supposedly is sleeping with my husband."
Following Kennedy's death in 1963, several women, from college students to White House staffers, alleged they had affairs with him.
Johnson, who served from 1963 to 1969, had a long marriage with his wife, Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson. However, a few years later, after marrying in 1934, Johnson began an affair with a woman named Alice Glass.
Johnson is said to have continued his escapades, including an affair with a White House staffer named Helen Gahagan Douglas.
The former president also paid child support for years to another woman who said he fathered her child.
Ford was one of two presidents, the other being Kennedy, who was accused of having an affair with an East German spy named Ellen Rometsch.
The accusations came from a former Senate staffer named Bobby Baker, who worked closely with Johnson.
Ford served as president from 1974 to 1977, and had a 58-year-long marriage to Betty Ford.
The one-term president, from 1989 to 1993, was married to his wife, Barbara, from 1945 until his death in 2018. The couple were said to have a storybook romance over their 73-year marriage.
However, their story had some painful chapters. Barbara was rumored to be suicidal in the '70s after her husband was accused of having an affair with his aide Jennifer Fitzgerald.
Rumors persisted for years of the affair, which Bush publicly denied.
Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky became international news, and a cornerstone of his impeachment trial in the '90s.
Clinton famously denied the allegations at first, saying that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman." However, evidence of the affair would later come to light, and he confessed.
Multiple women have accused Clinton of sexual assault over his career. Four other women have said they had affairs with him, all while he was married to Hillary Clinton. Clinton held presidential office from 1993 to 2001, and has been married to Hilary since 1975.
Bush, who served from 2001 to 2009, was accused of sexually assaulting a Texas woman named Margie Schoedinger, who filed a lawsuit against him in 2002. Schoedinger tragically died by suicide in 2003.
The following year, Bush's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case, and it was dismissed shortly thereafter for want of prosecution.
Bush was also alleged to have engaged in an 18-month affair with a former stripper, with the affair ending in 1999.
Trump had affair and sexual assault accusations that predated his time in office. However, many came to light during his presidency.
In 2018, adult-film star Stormy Daniels said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump denied it. However, he appeared to acknowledge it in a January 2023 Truth Social post, saying it "happened a long time ago."
Also, at least 26 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct or assault, which he has denied.
Sources: (Insider) (NPR)
US presidents accused of having affairs
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Several US presidents are believed to have had extramarital affairs, and of course, a few are more famous than others. While some are believed to have been in decade-long relationships, others had quick flings at the White House. From Bill Clinton's case with Monica Lewinsky to John F. Kennedy’s many escapades, and Donald Trump's alleged relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels; scandalous affair allegations and US presidents aren't anything new.
Click on for a history of US presidents who've allegedly engaged in infidelity.