Ted Kennedy's Secret Life Exposed: How First Wife Joan Suffered Through the Senator's Cheating Scandals, Blackmail and a 'Death Coverup'
Ted Kennedy's FBI files revealed the torment first wife Joan suffered in their marriage.
Oct. 9 2025, Published 5:29 p.m. ET
Over the course of their 25-year marriage, Joan Kennedy suffered the brunt of her husband Senator Ted Kennedy's shady secret life, including affairs, blackmail and an alleged death coverup, which were exposed in FBI files, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Joan, who passed away at age 89 on October 8, turned to drinking heavily to numb the pain of her personal sorrows, many of which have only come to light in recent years.
FBI Files
Ted's widow fought to keep the FBI files on the late senator sealed.
A bombshell release of files ripped the lid off Ted's wild affairs, Mafia ties and alleged coverup of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident.
The more than 2,200 pages of documents on Ted were so scandalous, his widow Victoria was said to fight tooth and nail trying to keep them sealed and hidden from the public.
In an ironic twist, few pages were released on Chappaquiddick, despite the fatal car crash being one of the biggest scandals of the senator's life. The lack of information seemingly suggested the powerful Kennedy family name helped keep details off official records.
The Chappaquiddick Incident Mysteriously Erased
Information on the Chappaquiddick incident appeared to be removed from the files.
On the fateful evening, Ted threw back glasses of rum and Coke at party for the so-called Boiler Room Girls, a group of young women who helped campaign for Bobby Kennedy.
Hours later he drove his car off a narrow bridge and into a pond. While Ted managed to escape the vehicle, 28-year-old passenger Kopechne remained trapped inside and died.
An insider said: "While Mary Jo slowly died in that car, Ted was in a warm hotel sobering up and planning the cover up."
Ted's plan worked. Despite fleeing the scene and waiting hours to report the accident, he only received a two-month suspended sentence – and his FBI file underlined his innocence.
The official stance from the government declared: "There is no indication that the death of Mary Jo Kopechne involved the violation of any federal law within the jurisdiction of the FBI."
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was said to explode when a newspaper report claimed the FBI was investigating the death – and demanded, "Nail the lie!" in an agency memo.
But years later the FBI dug into the case at the request of President Richard Nixon, who wanted to find dirt exposing Ted and Kopechne's affair to use against him in the political arena.
When the government looked into the files, specifically to see if Ted and his alleged mistress took a trip to Greece while he was married to Joan, the results of the investigation were nowhere to be found.
Ted's Extramarital Affairs
Details on Ted's numerous affairs were documented by the agency.
While his alleged fling with Kopechne appeared to be mysteriously erased from files, information on other affairs, including Olympian Suzy Chaffee, socialite Amanda Burden and Senate intern Stephanie Pinol, was uncovered.
Ted's extramarital affairs with a waitress and even a Russian spy were also said to be part of the documents.
While his love life details were shocking, one of the most astonishing revelations centered on a tip from a Mafia spy who claimed there were orgies taking place at the swanky The Carlyle Hotel.
The Mob snitch alleged the parties were hosted by Jacqueline Hammond, divorced wife of a former ambassador to Spain.
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Mafia Ties
The Mafia planned to blackmail the Kennedy brothers.
FBI documents stated: "It was reported that Mrs. Jacqueline Hammond, age 40, has considerable information concerning sex parties.
"Among those mentioned are the following individuals: Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Teddy Kennedy, Sammy Davis Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe."
Around the same time, the FBI files revealed Sinatra's name was also linked to a Mafia plot to blackmail Ted, Bobby and Lawford by setting them up "in a compromising situation with women."
Author Christopher Andersen noted: "These file remind us that for most of his life Teddy, like the rest of his family, was engaged in an almost frantic pursuit of power, money and sex."
