Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Jackie Told Docs to Pull Plug on Lover RFK: Book

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 6, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

(Newser) – Jacqueline Kennedy’s four-year love affair with RFK was so intense that it was she, rather than his wife, who made the decision to turn off his life support after he was shot, according to Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, which hits shelves this month. The New York Post got a closer look at the controversial book, and reveals some scintillating details:

  • The entire family knew of the affair, with Bobby’s wife Ethel once asking a family friend to "tell Bobby to stop sleeping with Jackie"; he told her to seek marriage counseling instead.
  • The two snuck away to get intimate during a dinner cruise on the presidential yacht just 6 months after John’s death, according to Arthur Schlesinger.
  • One socialite recalls seeing Bobby fondling a topless Jackie on the beach. “I was shocked. It was clear that Bobby was sleeping with his sister-in-law.”
  • Bobby was “the one person Jackie ever loved,” said Gore Vidal.

Jacqueline Kennedy, with her children, John Jr. and Caroline, and her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy greet the Queen, during a ceremony to unveil a monument to John F. Kennedy at Runnymede.
Jacqueline Kennedy, with her children, John Jr. and Caroline, and her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy greet the Queen, during a ceremony to unveil a monument to John F. Kennedy at Runnymede.   (Getty Images)
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy  stands between her brothers-in-laws Robert and Edward Kennedy at the graveside of her husband John F Kennedy, November 24, 1963.
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy stands between her brothers-in-laws Robert and Edward Kennedy at the graveside of her husband John F Kennedy, November 24, 1963.   (Getty Images)
Jackie Kennedy is seen in this 1960 file photo.
Jackie Kennedy is seen in this 1960 file photo.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Everybody knew about the affair. The two of them carried on like a pair of lovesick teenagers. - Franklin Roosevelt Jr.

It was the coming together of a man and a woman as a result of his bereavement and her mental suffering at the hands of her late, lecherous husband. It was passionate, it was doomed. - Truman Capote

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
Robert_Dada
Jul 6, 2009 11:54 AM CDT
We all clicked on the article. Food for thought?
brawne
Jul 6, 2009 10:11 AM CDT
Let's skip the liberal part because that isn't the issue. Marc Hauser, a Harvard biologist has discovered that world-wide, normal humans use the same neural mechanisms to deal with morality. Therefore, a large part of morality is hardwired and not a product of culture. It's important because abnormal people don't have these same processes whatever their culture. If by morality you mean the principles of what makes people good or bad--or all the gray in between.
brawne
Jul 6, 2009 9:47 AM CDT
Boy, I'm gonna get reamed for this, but books like this are part of the historical narrative. They give to history the flavor and human context to understand the why as well as the what. While right now it may seem exploitive, the important thing is to have the record before all the people who know are gone. History would be incomplete without the backstory which is usually the fuel. For example it is difficult to understand JFK's last speech without knowing the background of his relationship with Mary Meyer. We might not care, but history does. It would be impossible to understand the English Reformation if all those people hadn't written, at the time, about Henry's sex life. And this book will be in the NY Times Book Review which isn't saying much anymore, other than it's in the Post for the salacious and the Review for history.

More Newser Stories

JFK's Teen Lover Tells All in Explosive New Book

Jackie O Had Cruel Words for Presidents, Other VIPs

Jackie O: MLK a 'Phony'

50 Years After Inaugural, JFK's Archive Goes Online

Taliban Execute Pregnant Widow for Having Sex


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne