Presidential Affair Rumors That Haunted First Couples

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For centuries, the president and the first lady of the United States have faced scrutiny as one of the most closely watched couples in the world. Throughout American history, several presidential couples have faced rumors of infidelity. Not only have these rumors affected their private lives, but in some cases, their political legacies have also been tainted. The huge scandals that rocked the White House, whether based on truth or speculation, can erode trust, invite judgment, and blur the boundary between personal and political life.

From John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy to Donald Trump and Melania Trump, rumors of marital trouble don't seem to discriminate, often reminding us that even the most powerful people in the world are not immune to personal challenges. Many presidents and their wives have endured damning speculation that has tested both their marriages as well as their public images. And, for those rumors that end up being true, it can really change the public's perspective and can reshape how a presidency is remembered. Now, we're taking a look back at some of the biggest affair rumors that haunted presidential couples over the years. 

Woodrow Wilson was married to Ellen Axson Wilson when he was elected president in 1913. However, she fell ill and died in 1914. Within months, President Wilson was romantically linked to a woman named Edith Galt. He proposed just two months after he and Galt were introduced, and the two married in December 1915. While some people believe that Wilson and his second wife lived happily ever after, their marriage was plagued by affair rumors. 

In 1907, years before he met Galt and while he was married to Ellen, Wilson was allegedly having an affair with Mary Allen Hulbert Peck. In the years that followed, he and Peck exchanged letters — some of which have been preserved and put on display at the The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. Wilson was reportedly afraid that his affair with Peck would come to light and potentially ruin his relationship with Peck, as well as his chances at getting reelected, but neither happened. Wilson served two terms and his marriage to Galt lasted until his death.

According to the Washington Post, Wilson and Peck wrote to each other consistently until 1916. In 1919, after a three-year pause, Wilson wrote to Peck suggesting they meet up for lunch — with Wilson's wife. Peck agreed. About a week later, Wilson had a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. His time in the White House came to a close in 1921 and he died three years later. 

Warren G. Harding married Florence Mabel Kling in 1891. When Harding became president in 1921, the two moved into the White House. Harding ended up creating quite an interesting reputation for himself, even being dubbed "America's horniest president" by Politico in 2015. Over the course of his marriage, Harding is believed to have had numerous affairs. He was romantically linked to Nan Britton, who was nearly obsessed with him since she was a teenager.

Per Politico, the two had a lengthy affair that often included having sex in one of the closets in the White House. Britton wrote about the escapades in her book, "The President's Daughter," which was released in 1927. Britton gave birth to a love child, though there wasn't any proof that Harding was the child's father, so denial became relatively easy for him (via CNN). It wasn't until 2015 that a DNA test proved that Harding was indeed the father of Elizabeth Ann Christian.

Additionally, Harding was alleged to have had an affair with a woman named Carrie Fulton Phillips. Letters between the two have been preserved by the Library of Congress.

Franklin D. Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905. He was sworn in as president on March 4, 1933, after winning the 1932 presidential election against incumbent President Herbert Hoover. America appeared to have a bright future when Roosevelt took office, but there was something going on behind closed doors.

In 1914, Eleanor hired secretary Lucy Mercer. In the years that followed, Franklin allegedly began having an affair with Mercer — and Eleanor found out. According to The New York Times, Eleanor was unpacking for her husband following a trip when she discovered letters that Mercer had written to him. After finding out about the affair, Eleanor wanted a divorce. But that wasn't in the cards.

After thinking things through, Franklin's advisors warned him against divorce and so he and Eleanor worked things out on her terms. Per the New York Times, Eleanor told her husband that he was not to see Mercer and she made it clear that he would never sleep in the same bed as her again. The latter may have been easy, but many believe that Franklin and Lucy kept on with their affair for years. She was even by his side when he died in 1945.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is thought to have had an affair while he was married to his wife, Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower. While he was off serving in World War II, Eisenhower reportedly developed a close relationship with his driver, Captain Kay Summersby. Despite their closeness, Eisenhower denied having a romantic connection with Summersby, managing to keep his reputation — and his marriage — intact. It wasn't until 1976 when Summersby released her book, "Past Forgetting: My Love Affair With Dwight D. Eisenhower," that the truth was uncovered. 

"I feel free to talk about it now," she wrote (via The New York Times). "The General is dead. I am dying," she noted, as she'd been diagnosed with cancer. "When I wrote Eisenhower was my boss in 1948, I omitted many things, changed some details, glossed over others to disguise as best I could the intimacy that had grown between General Eisenhower and me. It was better that way." Elsewhere in her book, Summersby recalled an intimate moment she shared with the former president. "Our jackets came off. Buttons were unbuttoned. It was as if we were frantic, and we were," she wrote.

Although both the former president and Summersby were both gone by the time her biography was released, Mamie would live for another three years. She never publicly commented on the revelations.

John F. Kennedy was linked to a number of different women throughout the course of his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The two wed in 1953, but many believe that JFK's wandering eye didn't shut in the years that followed. He allegedly had affairs with Judith Campbell Exner, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Priscilla Wear to name a few. Exner's rumored affair with the president lasted over two years and included a surprise pregnancy and an abortion. "Jack couldn't have been more loving, more concerned about my feelings, more considerate, more gentle," Exner told People magazine in 1988.

While the president's relationship with Marilyn Monroe is only rumored, many became convinced — especially after her rendition of "Happy Birthday" that she sang to Kennedy in May 1962 at a fundraiser held at Madison Square Garden. His alleged affair with Priscilla Wear is perhaps more credible. While talking to a reporter, Jackie O was quoted as saying about Wear, "This is the girl who supposedly is sleeping with my husband" (via People). Nevertheless, Jackie was committed to her husband and the two remained married until his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

Lyndon B. Johnson married Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson in 1934; however, his loyalty to her was challenged a few times over the course of their marriage. The first of his alleged affairs began some time around 1939 with a woman named Alice Glass — and history suggests that Mrs. Johnson was well aware. The affair spanned years but wrapped up rather quickly toward the beginning of Johnson's presidency.

According to biographer Robert A. Caro, Glass broke things off with the president because she disagreed with his decision to "escalate the Vietnam War," according to UPI. But that apparently wasn't the be-all and end-all of stepping out on his wife. Johnson was also rumored to have engaged in an affair with White House staffer Helen Gahagan Douglas.

Cracked, which labeled Johnson as a "sexual beast," reported that the president's male aides often referred to his mistresses as his "harem." Lady Bird was apparently well aware of her husband's affairs, according to The Oklahoman, and her husband would even hit on other women right in front of her. Yikes.

George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush had their fair share of scrutiny throughout his presidency — and in the years that followed. He supposedly had an affair with an aide by the name of Jennifer Fitzgerald, although he vehemently denied the allegations. "You're perpetuating the sleaze by even asking the question, to say nothing of asking in the Oval Office," Bush told Dateline NBC's Stone Phillips when questioned about the affair rumors (via The Washington Post). 

Barbara had a very hard time dealing with the aftermath, according to author Susan Page. In her book, "The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty," Page detailed the first lady's feelings on the matter. "Barbara Bush found herself falling into the worst personal crisis she had faced since daughter Robin had died more than two decades earlier. Overwhelmed by pain and loneliness, she contemplated suicide," Page wrote (via Business Insider). "She would pull over to the side of the road until the impulse to plow into a tree or drive into the path of an oncoming car had passed," Page added.

Bill Clinton infamously cheated on Hillary Clinton with Monica Lewinsky. He first denied any sort of sexual relationship with her. "I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. ... These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people," the then-president told the press in 1998 (via Associated Press).

Seven months later, Bill gave a testimony as part of a grand jury investigation into various scandals connected to him and his wife. In that testimony, Bill admitted that he had relations with 21-year-old Lewinsky. He then addressed the American public in a televised broadcast, admitting that what he did was "wrong" (via Chicago Tribune).

"We all bring baggage to life, and sometimes we do things we shouldn't do and it was awful what I did," Bill said on the Hulu documentary, "Hillary," (via ABC News). "Everybody's life has pressures and disappointments, terrors, fears of whatever," he continued, explaining that the affair was one way that he managed his "anxieties for years." Bill and Hillary worked through the indiscretion and celebrated their 50-year wedding anniversary in 2025.

In 2006, when Melania Trump was pregnant with Donald Trump's child, Donald's alleged affair with Stormy Daniels began. Though the POTUS has repeatedly denied having any sort of relationship with Daniels, she wasn't about to go away quietly (or otherwise). In 2018, Daniels filed a lawsuit against the president, making bold claims that he paid her hush money to cover up their alleged affair.

Melania held her head high throughout the allegations, choosing to stick by her husband despite Daniels' claims. "I'm a mother and a first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do. It is not concern and focus of mine," she told ABC News in October 2018. "It's not always pleasant, of course, but I know what is right and what is wrong and what is true and not true," she added.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Grisham, former senior aide to Donald and Melania, claimed that Melania was ashamed by her husband's supposed antics. In "I'll Take Your Questions Now," Grisham wrote, "I felt that Mrs. Trump was embarrassed, and that she wanted him to feel embarrassed, too. Whether he is capable of that or not, I don't know" (via CNN). In 2024, in one of the biggest, unescapable scandals of the Trump family, Donald Trump was found guilty of paying hush money to Daniels.