The Story On Jackie Kennedy Marrying Her Sister's Former Flame

Jun 28, 2021 by apost team

Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis, better known as Jackie Kennedy, was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became a prominent figure in the public eye when she became the First Lady of the United States. At just 31 years old, Jackie was the third-youngest first lady at the time of her husband’s inauguration. As the wife of President John F. Kennedy, Jackie’s main cause she focused on was White House restoration and emphasis on the arts and culture. Her impeccable fashion sense, fondness for children, and charming personality made her a favorite among the general public

After her husband was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, Jackie and her children withdrew from the public eye as they mourned the president’s death. After a few years, it was revealed that Jackie had married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in October 1968, causing major controversy. Onassis had been invited to Kennedy’s funeral and even stayed at the White House afterward.

Prior to their marriage, the two were friends, and Onassis was actually a former partner to Jackie’s own sister Carolina Radziwill, who went by the name Lee. The two sisters used to be close during their younger years, but their relationship grew rocky as they got older on account of some scandals surrounding their relationships with each other’s partners. On top of this, Radziwill always felt like she was living in her sister’s shadow, as Jackie had been the center of attention for quite some time, furthering their rivalry. After Radziwill had an affair with Kennedy, Jackie found her revenge years later when she married her sister’s former flame.

In 2018, the Daily Mail reported that the sisters’ complicated relationship seemingly played out with Radziwill having an affair with Jackie’s husband and Jackie marrying the man her sister was desperately in love with. Authors Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger detailed their tumultuous relationship in their book “The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters: The Tragic and Glamorous Lives of Jackie and Lee.” The authors explained how Jackie used to keep a list of her enemies and never forgot anything, including the time her sister betrayed her.

The Daily Mail reported that Radziwill wasn’t even included in Jackie’s 38-page will after she died in 1994, although she expressed having “great affection” for her sister. While still alive, Jackie sought revenge against her sister and “stole” Onassis away from her, according to the Daily Mail. Radziwill had fallen in love with him and hoped to become his next wife, despite his current marriage to his wife, Tina, and his simultaneous involvement with an opera singer.

Radziwill’s wish stayed just a dream as her sister went on to marry Onassis. Jackie had tricked her sister into inviting the man to Kennedy’s funeral and to stay at the White House, to which the sister happily obliged, thinking she would get to rekindle her romance with the “Golden Greek,” according to the Daily Mail. 

Radziwill struggled as she was constantly cast in her more famous and successful sister’s shadow, and now, she had lost the man she had fallen for to the very same woman. “This was a blow from which their relationship would never completely recover, and what made it more painful was that it was Lee, of course, who had brought Jackie and Ari together,” the authors wrote, as per the Daily Mail.

According to Harper's Bazaar, Eleanor Perry said that Lee was screaming, "'How could she? How could this happen?'"

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