The Public Tragedy of the Extremely Private Jacqueline Kennedy

Apparently desperate for a change of scenery, on Oct. 20, 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, a father of two who was 29 years older, divorced and had been having a decade-long affair with opera star Maria Callas. He also had a personal relationship with Jackie’s still-married sister, Lee.

The match baffled people who knew Jackie and how protective she was of the Kennedy legacy. Her late husband and brother-in-law Robert reportedly didn’t trust him when Ari first came into their lives, and were fiercely opposed to the idea of Lee ever marrying him—but he remained a friend of the family.

After Patrick died, Jackie spent four weeks abroad with Ari and Lee on his yacht, Christina, to shake her depression. She reportedly wrote a pile of letters to her husband and returned home feeling much better. Ari had even encouraged her to stay strong by the president’s side on the campaign trail that fall.

Lee, needless to say, was shaken by the news of Jackie’s engagement to her former beau but maintained her composure and attended the wedding. “I am very happy to have been at the origin of this marriage,” she told the press, “which will, I am certain, bring my sister the happiness she deserves.”

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