Lindsey Graham Had A True Rags To Riches Childhood And His Family Home Proves It

Before Lindsey Graham became a U.S. Senator from South Carolina in 2003, he had humble beginnings. While he has benefited from political success for the past few decades, his life was not always so luxurious. He grew up in a small building his parents owned in Central, South Carolina, that operated as both the family home and business. The untold truth of Graham is that he shared a single room with his family during his upbringing, including his parents and younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone. 

The majority of the building was dedicated to his parents' small business that catered to locals: a liquor store, restaurant, bar, and pool hall called the Sanitary Cafe. The business left little room for the family's living space, limiting them all to just one room. "It was the one room where we all slept, we all ate, we watched TV, the sofa, everything was in the one room," Graham's sister told CNN in 2015 while providing a building tour. The building tour drew some online criticism, where users questioned his parents' lifestyle and priorities. "Liquor store? bar? and they had no where to sleep so their parents where alcoholics?" one YouTube user asked. 

Despite his struggles, Graham expressed gratitude for his upbringing during the announcement of his presidential campaign in 2015. The speech was made in front of his childhood home in South Carolina, where he claimed he was actually lucky to come from a place like that. "There are a lot of so-called 'self made' people in this world. I am not one of them," Graham said (via NPR). "My family, my friends, neighbors and my faith picked me up when I was down, believed in me when I had doubts — you made me the man I am today."

Lindsey Graham became an unexpected caregiver at a very young age. Graham's mother tragically passed from Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1976. Only 15 months later, his father also died of a heart attack. Graham was only 22 years old at the time, but his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was nine years younger than him. His then 13-year-old sister was the one who found their father after his death. "I can remember the day my father passed away standing in the living room of that house absolutely scared to death," Nordone told NPR. "Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me."

While Graham was in law school, he sold the family business and joined the Air Force, later adopting his younger sister so she could receive his military benefits. Nordone claimed she was the real reason behind Graham's bachelor lifestyle and why he never married, which his political opponents frequently used against him. "He was a young man taking on a young girl and teenager to raise," she told The New York Times. "He was just dedicating all of that time to raising me and going to school and trying to get an education. There's just only so much time in a day."

Even though the tragic details about Graham and his sister Darline's life are heartbreaking, the siblings were able to overcome losing their parents at a young age. His sister went on to marry Larry Nordone and have children with him, while Graham has served in the U.S. Senate for over two decades and counting. A lot of their success can be attributed to Graham's work ethic and devotion to his sister.