Jackie was offered $1m not to divorce JFK before presidential election

Jackie Kennedy was offered $1 million not to divorce John F. Kennedy before the presidential election, according to a biography on the First Lady.

In their biography, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Life Beyond Her Wildest Dreams, authors Danforth Prince and Darwin Porter reveal that before Kennedy became president, the couple went through a particular rocky time. Jackie had two miscarriages and JFK’s extramarital affairs were creating tension in the marriage, the CheatSheet reports.

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JFK’s father, Joe Kennedy, sensed a divorce was imminent and offered his daughter-in-law $1 million not to file for divorce, worrying that it would hurt JFK’s political career.

“She wasn’t happy in her marriage to Jack Kennedy and before he became president she wanted a divorce. Jack’s father Joe Kennedy offered her $1 million to stay knowing that a divorce would destroy Jack’s political future,” writes Porter and Prince in the biography.

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Jackie ultimately decided to stay in the marriage as long as JFK kept his activities discreet.

“She wasn’t happy at all married to JFK,” Porter wrote in the biography. “She agreed to stay married as long as Jack’s affairs stayed private but he was constantly humiliating her. Their happy marriage like Jackie’s ancestry and the modern-day Camelot was a myth.”