Top 10 Strangest and Most Interesting Presidential Marriages
The sacred bond between the President and First Lady is often analyzed and over-analyzed during each administration. Is the First Couple happy? Are they having struggles in their relationship? Is one of them (or both of them) having an affair? Beyond this usual banter, there have been some presidential couples which have been worthy of such inspection, as they have involved some quite bizarre behavior and factoids. Here is the list of the 10 strangest and most interesting presidential marriages.
1. Warren and Florence Harding
President Harding was apparently quite the ladies’ man, having numerous extramarital affairs, including with a 22-year old campaign worker when he was 51. He also had a 15-year relationship with Carrie Fulton Phillips, to whom he wrote many erotic letters.
When the press became suspicious of Warren’s affairs and began to ask about Florence’s past marriage, she suggested that she had been widowed, when she had in fact been divorced. Florence was apparently very demanding, and some believe that she wrote his inaugural speech.
When Warren Harding died, Florence strangely did not request an autopsy and destroyed many of his papers, leading to theories that she had poisoned him, which has been since discredited.