Inside Jackie Kennedy's Rumored Affair With Robert F. Kennedy After JFK's Death: 'They Carried on Like Lovesick Teenagers'
Jackie Kennedy was rumored to have been romantically involved with Bobby Kennedy after JFK's assassination.
June 4 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, leaving his wife, Jackie, a widow – but she may have found comfort in the arms of his brother.
Nearly 60 years after Robert F. Kennedy's own death, RadarOnline.com revisits the rumors of his torrid love affair revealed in C. David Heymann's 2009 tell-all, Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story.
Jackie Refused to Be 'the Widow Kennedy'
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
In a taped conversation, Jackie once told historian Theodore White that she was "not going to be the Widow Kennedy," and instead, she planned to "crawl into the deepest retirement" she could.
But it was Bobby who helped her grieve and filled the void in Jackie's life, according to her then-personal assistant, Kathy McKeon.
"Bobby stepped easily into the role of surrogate father for John and Caroline, and they worshipped him," she reportedly said.
Jackie and Bobby Were Like 'Lovesick Teenagers'
Franklin Roosevelt Jr. allegedly claimed 'everybody knew' about Bobby and Jackie's affair.
Meanwhile, the late Franklin Roosevelt Jr., who served as JFK’s undersecretary of commerce, claimed "everybody knew" about Bobby and Jackie's romantic relationship.
"The two of them carried on like a pair of lovesick teenagers," he was quoted as saying in an excerpt from Heymann's book.
Suspicious Remarks Detailed
Jackie Kennedy said it would be 'wonderful to be back in the White House' after JFK's death, according to a book.
Heymann also described a moment in March 1968, shortly after Bobby confirmed that he planned to run for president.
"Won’t it be wonderful when we’re back in the White House?" Jackie was said to have asked Bobby's wife, Ethel, at a family gathering, according to the tell-all.
To which Ethel asked, "What do you mean 'we'? You’re not running."
JFK 'Virtually Made a Bordello' of the White House
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Author C. David Heymann compared JFK's affairs to Bill Clinton in his tell-all book.
According to Heymann, Jackie may have been inspired – at least in part – to have an affair with Bobby as a form of revenge against her late husband.
"Jack virtually made a bordello out of the White House," the writer explained, per Irish Central. "People were well aware of his daily dalliances with women who were brought in to the White House swimming pool and other places to have sexual interludes with JFK. In Jackie’s case I think there was a great deal of anger after his death that also led to her becoming involved with Bobby Kennedy."
Both JFK and Jackie also didn't have to worry about rumors in the media or online in the way politicians – or their loved ones – have to today.
"This was a family that was wealthy and freewheeling and powerful and did what they wanted to do," he continued of the Kennedys. "In those days they operated with an impunity from press interference in their personal lives that we just don’t have today."
Heymann pointed to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky as a more modern example.
"(Clinton) had one dalliance and it immediately became headlines. JFK had multiple dalliances and not a word ever appeared in print," he shared. "It took The New York Times 30 years before they even reported on JFK’s womanizing. It just was not on anyone’s radar."
