Jackie Kennedy Had A Concealed Romance After JFK – And It Was With One Of His Best Buds

​​Sure, many Americans think they know Jackie Kennedy. The former First Lady was an icon of the 1960s, after all. And when she was left a widow after the assassination of JFK, the world grieved with her. But it seems there was more to Jackie than made it into the papers. Before her controversial second marriage, in fact, the leading lady may have been involved in a scandalous secret romance... with one of President Kennedy’s closest confidants.

Trusted advisor

If you’re wondering why you’ve never heard about this little-known liaison, that’s because the details have only recently been revealed. A stash of Jackie’s old love letters was uncovered in a crumbling Welsh manor in 2017, you see. So, who was the man who almost captured the widow’s heart? Shockingly, he had been a close friend and trusted advisor to her late husband.

No fairytale ending

After President Kennedy’s death, it seems, Jackie grew close to another man. And eventually, this entanglement led to a proposal. But there was no fairytale ending for this star-crossed couple. Instead, the affair culminated in heartbreak for the man who dared to court one of America’s most famous women. 

Family treasures

Fast-forward more than 50 years, and the grandson of Jackie’s secret beau is auctioning off the family treasures. Among them, reports claim, are several letters written between the high-profile pair. And they apparently reveal the depth of attachment between the president’s widow and the man who she ultimately refused.

Former snapper

Of course, Jackie is most famous today for her decade-long relationship with the 35th President of the United States. When the pair were introduced back in May 1952, though, John F. Kennedy was still just a congressman. His future wife, meanwhile, was a photographer who had recently left a prestigious junior position at Vogue magazine.

Social highlight

Some say that for JFK, it was love at first sight. And he definitely didn’t ignore his infatuation. Just a year-and-a-half after first meeting Jackie, John proposed. The pair were married by the fall of 1953. Their lavish Rhode Island wedding was, unsurprisingly, the highlight of the year’s social calendar for America’s elite.

Elegant First Lady

Jackie stuck by her husband’s side for ten years, their relationship remaining strong despite heartbreak and tragedy. And in early 1960 Kennedy announced his intention to run for President of the United States. When he won the election that November, his wife became one of the most elegant First Ladies the world had ever seen.

National icon

From refurbishing the White House to fending off rumors of extramarital affairs, Jackie handled the pressures of her position with grace. And in doing so, she became an icon of the era – a woman who continues to inspire movies and biographies long after her death. But it was her lesser-known dalliance with one of her husband’s closest friends that has made the headlines in recent years.

Badly shaken

Of course, this romance was only possible after a devastating tragedy. On November 22, 1963, while traveling in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas, President Kennedy was shot and killed. Having been seated by his side at the time, Jackie was left badly shaken by the violent event. In fact, later commentators have suggested that the First Lady continued to suffer from post-traumatic stress for some time after the assassination.

Holding it together

Outwardly, Jackie continued with her responsibilities, planning her husband’s funeral and accompanying her children to the somber event. But inwardly, she was struggling to hold it together. That’s not to say Jackie wasn’t offered support, though. The widow was consoled by Kennedy’s inner circle – men such as the British ambassador, David Ormsby-Gore.

Long-time friend

A politician and diplomat who was a member of the British aristocracy, Ormsby-Gore had already known Kennedy for years by the time the latter was elected. In fact, their relationship stretched back to the late 1930s, when the future President’s father served in London as an ambassador for the U.S. 

Missile crisis

Over time, the two families developed a close relationship. And after his rise to power, Kennedy requested the appointment of Ormsby-Gore to his own diplomatic role. As British ambassador, the aristocrat became one of the president’s closest advisors, consulting with him during major crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Valued judgement

Reportedly, the President treated Ormsby-Gore less like a foreign diplomat and more as a member of his own government. And according to some sources, Kennedy held the judgement of his friend in the highest regard. Perhaps it is not so surprising, then, that Jackie would bond with him after her husband’s untimely death. 

Close relationship

As the years passed, Kennedy and Ormsby-Gore continued to maintain a close relationship. Crucially, he advised the President on matters of nuclear disarmament and was instrumental in the banning of above-ground weapons tests in 1963. But later that year, his life – and that of the First Lady – would change for good.  

Car crash

After Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie kept Ormsby-Gore in her thoughts, sending birthday and Christmas gifts as a token of the relationship between the two families. Then, in 1967 the ambassador’s wife Sylvia was killed in a car crash, leaving him grieving his partner and the mother of his children.

Second tragedy

In the wake of this second tragedy, it seems, Jackie and Ormsby-Gore became even closer. In one letter, the former First Lady wrote, “I would do anything to take that anguish from you.” But as the pair supported each other through their trauma, the media began to speculate about the nature of the relationship between them.

Aristocratic title

According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, Ormsby-Gore was even named the man “most likely to win Jackie” by a tabloid in the U.S. By this time, the ambassador had inherited his father’s aristocratic title, becoming Lord Harlech and earning a seat in British parliament. Such a high-profile figure, then, must have seemed the perfect match for Kennedy’s widow.

Traveling companions

At first, it appeared as if the prediction might come true. Clearly enjoying each other’s company, Jackie and Ormsby-Gore took a number of trips together, including one to Cambodia to visit the ancient temples at Angkor Wat. But was this merely a friendly outing – or was romance on the cards? 

Broken heart

Eventually, of course, Jackie would marry Aristotle Onassis, a self-made millionaire known as one of the richest men in the world. To many observers, Ormsby-Gore would have been a far more fitting choice than a Greek shipping tycoon more than 20 years her senior. It was Lord Harlech, though, who ended up nursing a broken heart. 

Marriage proposal

As it turns out, Ormsby-Gore had actually gone so far as to propose marriage to Jackie, although the exact circumstances of the occasion are unclear. According to some, the incident occurred while the pair were traveling in Cambodia, while others claim that it was some months after their trip that the aristocrat made his intentions clear.

Hidden truth

Ultimately, though, Jackie rejected Ormsby-Gore’s proposal. But why did she turn down the chance to marry an old friend, only to tie the knot with Onassis just months later? For decades, the truth about the relationship between Lord Harlech and the former First Lady has remained hidden. But now the story can finally be told.

Raising funds

After Ormsby-Gore’s death in 1985 his son Francis inherited the family estate of Glyn Cywarch in Wales. And in 2016 it passed to Jasset Ormsby-Gore, who currently holds the title of Baron Harlech. The manor, though, had seen better days, and its new owner set about raising some funds to finance its restoration.

Leather cases

In order to raise the cash, Jasset began auctioning off his family treasures – including items that once belonged to his grandfather, Ormsby-Gore. And that’s when a number of leather cases were discovered at Glyn Cywarch. When its locks were opened, they were found to contain a number of letters between Jackie and her husband’s close advisor.

Pathetic plans

In one, written not long after Jackie had refused his proposal, Ormsby-Gore lamented his situation. He wrote, “All the pathetic plans I had brought with me for visits to Cyrenaica, holidays near one another and a whole variety of solutions to our marriage problem… all had become irrelevant trash to be thrown away within a few hours of my landing in New York.”

Fond memory

In the same letter, Ormsby-Gore fondly recalled his holiday with Jackie in Cambodia and admitted that he had considered a secret marriage for the pair. Clearly heartbroken, he continued, “As for your photograph, I weep when I look at it. Why do such agonizing things have to happen? Where was the need for it?”

Second trauma

Although she had turned Ormsby-Gore down, Jackie had not ruled romance out of her life. And when Kennedy’s brother Robert was also assassinated in June 1968, she found herself searching for comfort. Speaking to The New York Times newspaper in 2017 biographer Barbara Leaming noted, “It was the second great trauma for her.”

Penned a letter

But it was Onassis, rather than Ormsby-Gore, to whom Jackie turned in her time of need. All the same, she continued to hold Kennedy’s friend in the highest regard. And just one month after her second marriage, she sat down on her new husband’s yacht and penned a letter to the man that she had rejected.  

Love and pain

Dated November 13, 1968, the letter detailed the affection that Jackie held for Ormsby-Gore – a friendship that had only grown through their shared grief. She wrote, “We have known so much and shared and lost so much together – Even if it isn’t the way you wish now – I hope that bond of love and pain will never be cut.” 

Beloved brother

“You are like my beloved brother – and mentor – and the only original spirit I know – as you were to Jack,” Jackie continued. “Please know – you of all people must know it – that we can never really see into the heart of another. You know me. And you must know that the man you write of in your letter is not a man that I could marry.”

Wise and kind

At another point in their correspondence, according to The New York Times, Ormsby-Gore had implied that Onassis was not a worthy suitor. But Jackie wrote back defending her now-husband. She replied, “[He] is lonely and wants to protect me from being lonely. And he is wise and kind. Only I can decide if he can, and I decided.”

Healing and comfort

Although some might have been confused by Jackie’s choice of Onassis over the far more handsome and urbane Ormsby-Gore, her reasoning was clear. She wrote, “If ever I can find some healing and some comfort – it has to be with somebody who is not part of all my world of past and pain.”

Safety and security

“I can find that now,” Jackie wrote of her relationship with Onassis, “if the world will let us.” Later, she added, “I know it comes as a surprise to so many people. But they see things for me that I never wanted for myself.” Her second marriage, then, was likely borne more out of a desire for safety and security than love.

Tied the knot

Even so, Jackie remained married to Onassis until his death in 1975. But what of the man whose proposal she refused? Apparently, Ormsby-Gore did not remain broken-hearted for long. In December 1969 he tied the knot with editor Pamela Colin, a woman who shared many physical characteristics with the former First Lady.

Stayed friends

Jackie and Ormsby-Gore, though, remained friends. And when he died in a car crash in 1985 she made an appearance at his funeral. In fact, if some sources are to be believed, she later regretted her decision not to marry Lord Harlech. But although the pair were not destined to be man and wife, their affection for one another lives on through the letters found at Glyn Cywarch.

Trusted advisor

Altogether, 18 letters, each penned by hand, were unearthed at the estate – as well as one typed note. Alongside them were a collection of papers that highlight the relationship between Ormsby-Gore and the Kennedy family. Take, for example, one message that the then-President sent to his most trusted advisor.

Good and true

“I appreciate as you know, in all these critical matters your judgement – which I have found to be uniformly good and true,” the letter read. Elsewhere, the collection alludes to the more tragic period in the friendship between the two families. Among the papers, you see, is a pass that gave Ormsby-Gore access to the White House immediately after Kennedy’s assassination.

Rambling letter

According to The New York Times, the collection also includes a document handed out to Ormsby-Gore, who was one of Robert Kennedy’s pallbearers, before the politician's funeral. And that’s not all. Apparently, there is also a rambling letter written by Jackie when she was apparently under the influence, discussing an upcoming trip to a sailing race. 

Auction excitement

On March 29, 2017, the letters went up for sale at Bonhams, an auction house in London. Thanks to their rare nature, they generated plenty of excitement. “You just don’t get this quantity of insight into Jackie’s personal life and that level of intimacy,” the venue’s fine books and manuscripts expert Matthew Haley told The New York Times

Sheer amazement

The next day, it was announced that the collection had sold at auction for a staggering $123,000. Speaking to NBC News, Bonham’s Harvey Cammell recalled the moment that the historic notes were discovered. He said, “When we opened the case, and it’s probably the first time the case had been opened in over 30 years, looking down at these handwritten letters, by JFK, by Jackie Kennedy… it was one of sheer amazement really.”

Special relationship

Bought by a private collector, the letters remain testament to the special relationship that existed between Jackie and Ormsby-Gore. Just how deep their connection was, though, may never truly be known. As Leaming told The New York Times, “Of course he fell in love with her – she understood him so well. But I have no idea if it was consummated or not.”