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Within the spring of 1964, America’s former first girl, Jacqueline Kennedy, landed on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Nonetheless reeling from the assassination of her husband, John F. Kennedy, a number of months earlier, she hoped that the time alone along with her inside circle — together with her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy — in a fantastic place would really feel therapeutic.
Jackie and Bobby had at all times loved a heat relationship, however their shared grief over JFK’s death drew them nearer. “Bobby was at all times extra accepting of her than the opposite Kennedy members of the family,” Paul Brandus, writer of Jackie: Her Transition From First Woman to Jackie O., solely tells Nearer. “He was protecting of her.”
For Jackie, marrying into the Kennedy clan in 1953 offered challenges. “The Kennedys have been a very extroverted household,” says Brandus. “They have been all fierce opponents, whether or not it’s politics, or enterprise, or sports activities. They preferred to win.” Blood-thirsty soccer video games have been performed on summer season weekends on the household summer season house in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. “Jackie simply watched. The opposite Kennedys would make enjoyable of her. Like she thought she was too good for them and didn’t wish to get her palms soiled.”
Bobby would play as arduous because the others, however he understood Jackie. “Bobby had a troublesome exterior, however he was additionally extraordinarily non-public and a bit bit shy,” says Brandus. “He and Jackie have been alike in these methods.”
Robert’s spouse, Ethel, didn’t share this affection for Jackie. “There’s no query that when Jackie grew to become first girl and a trendsetter on either side of the Atlantic, Ethel was envious,” says Brandus, who provides that Ethel wasn’t above poking enjoyable at her well-known sister-in-law. “Jackie thought her ft have been too huge, and Ethel seized upon that and teased her about it.”
Jacqueline Kennedy Discovered Solace in Bobby Kennedy
After JFK’s dying, Jackie solely confided her darkest ideas to Bobby, whom she unreservedly trusted. “Jackie had nightmares, would cry usually, and drank in an effort to neglect,” says Brandus. Railing towards God, the widow “even contemplated suicide,” he says. Solely Jackie’s devotion to her two youngsters stopped her.
Bobby, in the meantime, grew to become a shadow of himself. “He misplaced weight and walked round city like a ghost,” says Brandus, who provides that he took to carrying JFK’s jacket. “He would sneak into Arlington Cemetery at night time to go to his brother’s grave.”
It’s no shock that Jackie and Bobby discovered solace in one another. When a good friend supplied up his Caribbean house that spring, Bobby joined Jackie with out Ethel. “He and Jackie weren’t alone. A number of different buddies made that journey,” factors out Brandus. However the pair spent lengthy hours collectively, speaking about philosophy and making an attempt to make sense of the tragedy. “Jackie’s chief Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, insisted they didn’t have an affair,” says Brandus, “However in some methods, Jackie was nearer to Bobby than she was to her personal husband.”
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