Strange Things About Chelsea Clinton's Marriage
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky's relationship began like a Shakespeare play — they met as teenagers (they had a happier ending, of course). They became good friends and stayed that way throughout college. After Chelsea graduated from Stanford and Oxford, she took a job at the New York City consulting firm McKinsey & Company, then moved on to the hedge fund Avenue Capital Group. Meanwhile, Mezvinsky was still waiting in the wings.
His chance came in 2005 when Chelsea split with her boyfriend of four years, writer Ian Klaus. Two years later, The New York Times reported that Chelsea and Mezvinsky's friends observed them advancing to the "cuddly and affectionate" at parties phase, and the rest is history. What does Bill Clinton think about all this? He loves the guy. "Bill adores him. This is the son he didn't have," a source told People in 2009. "This is the relationship Bill didn't have with his father."
So has anything changed since their 2010 wedding? Let's take a deep dive into the strange things about Chelsea Clinton's marriage.
Are Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky the definition of opposites attract?
Despite growing up with politician parents and enjoying post-collegiate careers in private equity, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky seem to be polar opposites. In the 2012 Vogue profile of the former first daughter, readers got a glimpse into their personalities. While Chelsea dropped multi-syllable words in casual conversation, her husband described himself as "just a nerdy Jewish boy from Philly." He added, "But you know, Bill Clinton grew up with a dirt floor in Arkansas, so it's all relative."
"She's very much the yin to my yang. I don't want to say I'm aloof, but I definitely can exist in a cloud," Mezvinsky continued. "I walk into parking meters. She's the antithesis of that. She's like: This is where the parking meters go!" However, Mezvinsky being a bit of a self-described airhead made him that much more endearing to those in his wife's circle. "He's a real mensch," Chelsea's best friend, Nicole Fox, told the mag, adding, "We were always rooting for them to get together."
Chelsea's chief of staff for The Clinton Foundation, Bari Lurie, agreed. "He's this playful schoolboy stuck inside this wicked-smart, really astute adult body," she said, adding, "He's as happy goofing off as he is talking finance with world leaders. He's the best of both worlds." Another fun fact: Marc Mezvinsky grew up with eleven siblings. Chelsea Clinton, of course, grew up with Secret Service and Socks the cat. We assume her husband appreciates the peace and quiet these days.
Chelsea Clinton's 'royal wedding'
When you're the only child of a political dynasty, you can be assured that your wedding won't be a simple affair. "It's going to be very understated, elegant, but befitting a royal wedding for the U.S.," wedding planner Claudia Hanlin told Today at the time. "Understated." That's definitely one way to describe the undoubtedly epic party.
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky's 2010 wedding at New York's Astor Courts estate reportedly cost up to $5 million. According to the Daily Mail, here's a partial breakdown: an $11,000 cake, $250,000 for Clinton's jewelry, $600,000 for glass-walled and air-conditioned tents, $500,000 for flowers, and $200,000 for extra security. What if the 500 guests had to use the bathroom? Per TMZ, they could visit the $15,000 porta-potties with porcelain toilets.
Guests at the lavish wedding included such megastars as Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Barbra Streisand, but would you like to know why there are no pictures of anyone during the ceremony? Brace yourselves. Citing a "VIP Movement," The Federal Aviation Administration-enforced a no-fly zone over the Hudson River venue for a full 12-and-a-half hours, according to NBC News 4 New York. Take that, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Was Chelsea Clinton's marriage in trouble early on?
Six months after they tied the knot, the split rumors started swirling. New York's CBS 2 cited reports that alleged that Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky's young marriage was falling apart due to familial and career-related issues, and that she was seeking an annulment. The publication based this on the fact that Mezvinsky, who's worked as an investment banker, was apparently in the middle taking a few months off in Wyoming to ski while Clinton remained back home in Manhattan.
However, Daily News gossip columnist Carson Griffith told the publication that divorce wasn't in the cards. "I think a lot of people are hoping that there's trouble between Chelsea and Mezvinsky, but it's just not the case," he said, adding, "They're still in love." As for Mezvinsky's ski trip, Griffith claimed it wasn't a "relationship crisis," but rather a "work crisis for Marc."
During a 2012 Vogue profile of Clinton, her chief of staff at the Clinton Foundation, Bari Lurie, said the tabloid gossip taught the couple a valuable lesson. "None of it was true," Lurie said. "But what put a strain on them was that the stories were being written because none of us were paying attention to it. It was an eye-opening lesson. Chelsea realized, Maybe I need to get out there and demystify myself a little bit."
Meet the parents
Chelsea Clinton isn't the only one with politicians in the family. According to ABC News, Marc Mezvinsky's mother, Marjorie Margolies, served a term in Congress after being elected to Pennsylvania's 13th district seat in 1992. Prior to her career in politics, Margolies spent 25 years as a journalist. His father, Ed Mezvinsky, served two terms as Democratic congressman, representing Iowa's first congressional district in the '70s. However, in 2002, the elder Mezvinsky pleaded guilty to running "a Ponzi-esque scheme" that defrauded nearly $10 million from investors. While Bill Clinton was still in the Oval Office, Ed pleaded for a pardon.
"I have real reason to believe that without a pardon, charges will be brought against me in the very near future and that I will then be faced with a long and difficult process of defending myself, and ultimately the prospect of a long prison term," Ed wrote (via Politico). The disgraced politician's request continued, "I am humbled and saddened at having sullied my reputation and that of my family and having disappointed the many honorable and decent people who had confidence in me. I am prepared to try to make amends as best I can."
Margolies also wrote to President Clinton, claiming that her husband had "worked tirelessly as an advocate for the poor, the underprivileged, and underserved" and deserved clemency. Ed was not issued a pardon.
Scott Baio started a conspiracy theory about Chelsea Clinton's husband
To say that actor Scott Baio is a big Donald Trump fan would be an understatement. He's also a big fan of conspiracy theories. "Did you know???? Some Clinton connection I just discovered. So Chelsea is married to George SOROS nephew," Baio alleged on his official Facebook page in 2016. "Hillary's three top aides are Muslims and two are connected to the Muslim brotherhood. Are we getting the picture yet and what will happen unless Trump is elected? The Clinton — Mezvinsky — Soros Connection." Okay, then.
George Soros, of course, is the billionaire investor and founder of Open Society Foundations, which funds liberal causes in America and abroad. While Snopes swiftly debunked Baio's claim, the rumor still made the rounds in right-wing circles until it made its way to Roseanne Barr — the queen of measured and reasonable political takes. Barr wrote in a now-deleted 2018 tweet, "Chelsea Soros Clinton."
This caught the attention of Chelsea, who tweeted, "Good morning Roseanne – my given middle name is Victoria. I imagine George Soros's nephews are lovely people. I'm just not married to one. I am grateful for the important work @OpenSociety does in the world. Have a great day!" Fortunately, this section of the article has run out of tin foil. Moving along.
Is Chelsea Clinton the one bringing home the bacon?
Marc Mezvinsky makes his living as an investor, but there's one small problem: he can't seem to hold onto a job. According to Dealbreaker, a site that covers the financial industry, Mezvinsky seems to always fail upwards. After spending six years at Goldman Sachs, Chelsea Clinton's better half struck out on his own. Mezvinsky spent a few years at 3G Capital before going on his abovementioned three-month ski trip, then decided to launch his own hedge fund, Eaglevale Partners. He took that hedge fund to Greece, seeing an opportunity to cash in on the country's economic revival after the 2008 financial crash. However, per The New York Times, the fund closed two years later "after losing nearly 90 percent" of the $25 million it raised from investors. A few months later, Mezvinsky took the vice chairman job at the Silicon Valley investment firm Social Capital. He was there less than a year. In October 2019, he was hired as the managing director of the private equity firm, TPG.
All of this wasn't from a lack of trying. Politico reports that in a hacked email released by Wikileaks, former Bill Clinton aide Doug Band claimed that Mezvinsky leveraged his connections with the Clintons to raise money for his hedge fund. Band also claimed that Chelsea was setting up meetings for her husband that resulted in investments from several major donors to the Clinton Foundation and the Clintons' campaigns. Yikes.
Chelsea Clinton and her husband live the high life
While Marc Mezvinsky appears to still be working at TPG, as of this writing, he can also count on Chelsea Clinton to make sure the bills are paid should he ever decide to switch career tracks again. According to a 2020 report by the New York Post, Clinton made $9 million in salary and stock options since 2011 by sitting on the board of internet investment firm IAC (aka InterActiveCorp). The company is owned by Clinton megadonor Barry Diller.
In 2017, Clinton made around $250,000 after joining the Expedia Group's board. The company is also owned by Diller. And despite having no TV journalism — or any journalism — experience, Politico reported back in 2014 that Clinton earned an annual salary of $600,000 at NBC News as a special correspondent.
And hey, it's all been paying off! In 2013, Clinton and Mezvinsky moved into a $10 million New York City apartment described as a "luxury fortress" by the New York Daily News. The 5,000-square-foot apartment is among the longest apartments in the Big Apple.
Marc Mezvinsky wasn't a fan of changing diapers
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky share three children — Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing when the couple expanded their family, with Clinton revealing that Mezvinsky wasn't initially a fan of changing diapers. After Charlotte was born in 2014, Clinton told People, "I don't mind. I really don't! ... She's just so cute!" But Clinton didn't totally let her husband off the hook, telling People, "I tease him about [it] because it is the exception. He's so attentive, he's so engaged with her, reading to her, helping her get dressed, getting her into her pajamas at night, helping give her a bath. Everything else." Everything but diapers, it would seem.
Unsurprisingly, Clinton's comments about her husband's lack of interest in changing diapers caught the public's attention. It wasn't long before Mezvinsky had allegedly changed his ways, with Clinton telling NBC's "Today" (via People), "He's working on it. ... He was really rather mortified that I shared that, so he's been changing lots of diapers in the last week." Luckily, Clinton's comments spurred Mezvinsky into action, which must have been helpful as the couple welcomed two more kids after Charlotte.
Bath time with the kids caused Chelsea Clinton's broken toe
In May 2023, it was reported that Chelsea Clinton had been spotted in New York wearing a protective boot on her foot. Explaining the unusual footwear, Clinton's representative told People, "[She] broke her toe in a race to bath time with kids." Basically, bath time is dangerous, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. While no other details were revealed about Clinton's injury, it's clear that she was undergoing treatment to fix her broken toe in the meantime by wearing some protective footwear.
Clinton had previously gotten candid about how busy she is as a working parent, which perhaps explains why she found herself rushing around at bath time. Discussing the challenges of parenting at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clinton explained to People, "I feel like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm not doing either thing very well at the moment, but hopefully doing each as best as I can.'" She continued, "... The dishes may not get done until right before dinner or maybe not even until after dinner for the whole day, and that's okay."
It sounds as though Bill Clinton's daughter is a hands-on mom who is juggling a lot of moving parts in her life on a daily basis. Still, the fact that she broke her toe while caring for her kids shows just how much she throws herself into parenting.
Chelsea Clinton gave her husband some pointers via Beyoncé
In 2019, Chelsea Clinton made it clear that she's a big fan of Beyoncé, but when it comes to Jay-Z, perhaps not so much. During an interview with The Cut, Clinton revealed that she'd watched Beyoncé's "Homecoming" documentary, which charted her journey to Coachella in 2018. At one point in the doc, Beyoncé is seen Facetiming with husband Jay-Z to express excitement that she could fit back into one of her costumes after giving birth to twins. Jay-Z's response was apparently less than stellar, with the rapper simply saying, "All right!"
Clinton was struck by the moment, telling The Cut, "And I said, 'Marc, if that's ever me, you better have more enthusiasm.'" She continued, "It wasn't the 'I'm so proud of you. That's amazing' that I arguably think any woman deserves, particularly someone who has clearly worked herself body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit to get to that place." According to Clinton, "Marc was like, 'Duly noted,'" suggesting that he would most definitely react with more enthusiasm should he ever find himself in a similar situation. Basically, in the Clinton-Mezvinsky household, Beyoncé reigns.
Former friend Ivanka Trump won't be invited for dinner
At one point, Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton were friends. However, that all changed after Donald Trump became president after the 2016 election. During a 2020 interview with Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live," Clinton said of her former friendship with Ivanka, "I mean, I've not spoken to her since 2016." As for why Clinton had no interest in being friends with Ivanka any longer, she elaborated, "It's just really hard when there's someone who's actively embracing their candidate, whether it's their father or not, who is trafficking in, like, racism and sexism and antisemitism and Islamophobia and homophobia and transphobia and conspiracy theories and lies."
Ivanka publicly supported her father throughout his presidency and following his first indictment in 2023, which suggested that she endorsed at least some of his views or policies. During another interview on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2022 (via People), Clinton confirmed that she had no contact with Ivanka any longer, noting of her former friend, "She went to the dark side."
Basically, Ivanka's apparent support of Donald's rhetoric seemingly destroyed any friendship she originally had with Clinton. As a result, it seems unlikely that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, will be invited over to the Clinton-Mezvinsky household for dinner anytime soon, which is probably for the best.