During her tenure in the White House, Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy rose to become one of the most adored First Ladies in history. For everyone seeing from the outside, the life of the Southampton, New York native and the then-youngest president to assume office—John F. Kennedy—seemed like a perfect love tale.
Everything changed on that dreadful November 1963 day in Dallas, Texas, when John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. Years later, Jacqueline, sometimes known as “Jackie,” would remarry after having to adjust to a completely new life.
Despite her enormous popularity, little was known about Jackie Kennedy’s existence in the White House; even though the people loved her, there were concerns regarding her availability on a daily basis.
New details about Jacqueline and her private life were disclosed by her former bodyguard, Clint Hill, in an interview with the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.
But first, let’s examine Jackie Kennedy’s life in more detail.
On July 28, 1929, in Southampton, New York, she was born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. Her parents are Janet Lee and John Vernon Bouvier III.
Jackie Kennedy’s formative years
The Bouvier family was well-off, and her father was a stockbroker. At an early age, Jackie showed an interest in writing, painting, and riding. She was sitting on a horse’s back pretty much as soon as she could walk.
Due to her family’s financial stability, Jackie Kennedy attended some of the top private schools available. She spent her early years composing poetry and other stories and creating her own pictures for them while residing in New York City, Hampton, Newport, and Rhode Island. She studied ballet as well.
Jackie enrolled in Miss Chapin’s School on East End Avenue in New York’s first grade. Jackie was considered by Miss Platt, one of her instructors, to be “a darling child, the prettiest little girl, very clever, very artistic, and full of the devil,” according to the JFK Library.
By coincidence, Jackie got into a lot of trouble. “Jacqueline was given a D in Form because her disturbing conduct in her geography class made it necessary to exclude her from the room,” a headmistress Miss Ethel Stringfellow said on one of her report cards.
Jackie’s parents separated when she was ten years old, and her mother Janet later wed Hugh D. Auchincloss. Then, the family relocated to his house close to Washington, D.C.
Jackie Kennedy started attending Vassar College in 1947. She returned to George Washington University in 1951 to receive her degree after spending her junior year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris.
worked as a photographer and journalist.
Jackie developed empathy for individuals from other nations, particularly the French, as a result of her stay in France. She was unaware, nevertheless, that one day she would have the title of First Lady of the United States.
“It was the most beloved year of my life.” Of her year in France, Jackie Kennedy remarked, “Being away from home gave me a chance to look at myself with a jaundiced eye.”
“I came home happy to start over here but with a love for Europe that I’m afraid will never go,” the speaker said. “I learned not to be ashamed of a real hunger for knowledge, something I had always tried to hide.”
Jackie started her first employment at the Washington Times-Herald Newspaper after graduating from George Washington University. She adopted the persona of the “Inquiring Camera Girl,” going about the city during work hours, snapping pictures of individuals and posing various inquiries to them based on the topic of the day.
She kept on her column writing for the newspaper, conducting interviews with notable figures including Richard M. Nixon and covering Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first inauguration.
Jackie got to know John F. Kennedy, the man who would become her husband, at work at the Herald. She received an invitation to a dinner party in Georgetown in 1952, sent by Charles Bartlett, a friend and fellow journalist.
How did John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy get together?
John Kennedy was a buddy of his as well. When they first met, Jackie and John clicked right away.
As stated in America’s Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jackie’s family friend Molly Thayer remarked, “She knew instantly that he would have a profound, perhaps disturbing, influence on her life.”
At her rendezvous with future president John, sparks had already flown, even though Jackie left to go on another date. Ted Kennedy, his younger brother, said that he loved her.
When he first saw her at supper, “my brother really was smitten with her right from the very beginning,” he said.
Thus, it came to pass that Jackie and John F. Kennedy fell in love. The couple wed at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953. Kennedy had already been elected to the U.S. Senate by the time they traveled to Mexico for their honeymoon.
JFK had plenty of free time at the same time that his political career was flourishing. During his recuperation from the back surgery, Jackie suggested that he publish a book about US senators who had sacrificed their careers to stand up for causes they supported.
Following the publication of Profiles in Courage, JFK was awarded the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. The birth of Caroline, the Kennedy family’s first child, made it a momentous year for them as well.
The life of Jackie Kennedy in the White House
A triennial later, Kennedy declared his intention to seek the presidency. JFK took over as the country’s next president on November 8, 1960.
Jackie, then thirty-one, was instantly crowned the First Lady of the United States. Her husband became quite upset shortly after the inauguration, and Jackie and JFK had a beautiful moment.
The pair was captured in the now-famous photo by AP photographer Henry Burroughs with Jackie’s palm resting on his chin.
“Why didn’t Jack kiss you after? Everyone asked, knowing full well that he would never do that there. Jackie Kennedy said, “But you had to march out in such an order that I was about eight behind him.”
And I really, really wanted to see him by himself before lunch. And I was just so proud of him when I finally caught up to him in the Capitol.
And there’s a photo where I put my hand on his chin and, you know, he’s just staring at me, and there were actual tears in his eyes,” she continued. I thought there was no one there, and then a flash occurred. The papers stated that his wife had chuckled him beneath the chin. That was so much more poignant than a kiss, in my opinion, because he actually did start to cry.
Jackie had a strong sense of duty to her nation. She was totally committed to their family at the same time, especially because John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., their second child, had been born a few weeks after the inauguration.
After the death of John F. Kennedy, life
The White House grounds were updated to include a swimming pool, a treehouse, and swings to better accommodate a family with young children. As First Lady, Jackie’s primary goal was to preserve and repair the White House.
After this was finished, Jackie Kennedy personally gave a tour of the facility. Over 80 million viewers tuned in to the CBS broadcast, and Jackie Kennedy received an honorary Emmy Award.
Patrick, John and Jackie’s third child, was born on August 7, 1963. Sadly, a serious lung condition claimed his life just two days later.
Then came the notoriously horrific Dallas, Texas, tragedy of November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was shot and died. At the age of 34, Jackie became a widow, and millions of people worldwide expressed their sorrow.
Jackie was commended for her bravery and decency at the moment. She started working on the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum shortly after her husband passed away.
Jackie quickly stepped back from the spotlight and wed Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1968. In 1975, she experienced her second divorce and made the decision to start a new profession. Jackie started off as an editor at New York City’s Viking Press before moving on to Doubleday as a senior editor.
Cause of death: Jackie Kennedy
She died on May 19, 1994, of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and was buried next to John F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery, which is located outside of Washington, D.C.
All those who had known her as the First Lady were particularly hurt by her passing. However, not much is known about Jackie’s personal life, despite the fact that she rose to enormous popularity at the White House.
Clint Hill, her former bodyguard, recently opened up about his life defending Jackie, disclosing a lot of information that most people are probably unaware of.
Clint joined the Department of the Army as a counterintelligence agent and worked for President Eisenhower in Denver, Colorado. He was chosen one day to become an agent and collaborate closely with Jackie Kennedy.
He initially believed that would be a rather uninteresting detail.
“All right, we’ve made up our minds about what to do. You will be paired with Mrs. Kennedy. And I remember being extremely horrified,” Hill said.
“I was not interested in that task. I knew what prior first ladies were capable of. I had no desire to participate in fashion presentations, tea parties, or dance classes.
However, Clint quickly saw that Jackie was different from the other First Ladies who had come before her. The two struck up a wonderful friendship that progressively got better with time.
As previously stated, Jackie prioritized her children above everything else, serving as both a mother and a First Lady. Clint Hill also picked up on that very fast.
Clint Hill, a former bodyguard, describes Jackie Kennedy’s personality.
She desired that the kids grow up to be typical kids. Nothing noteworthy. They were to be handled by the agents as though they were one of their own. The children got back up if they fell. You failed to assist them. All of this has to be learned by them independently. He clarified, “She wanted to keep herself and the kids as anonymous as possible.
Yes, she made a fantastic mother. Her worries were centered around them and their schooling. In order to provide Caroline with an education, she established a school within the White House and invited several young students from various backgrounds to enroll as well. There were two teachers there, and it was located directly on the White House’s third level. He said, “They used to play out on the south grounds.”
Despite their intimate bond, Jackie always addressed Clint as Mr. Hill, while he addressed her as Mrs. Kennedy. He once moved his entire family to Squaw Island, where the Kennedy family was staying, for the duration of the summer.
As the First Lady’s bodyguard, Clint put in a lot of overtime and was frequently away from his family. As a result, his kids were essentially left fatherless.
However, Jackie occurred to observe that Clint’s kids were the same age as hers that summer on Squaw Island.
She asked Clint’s kids to come play with hers.
But as for him, he turned it down.
“She cared about us more than she did about herself.”
At last, I persuaded her by telling her that it wasn’t a good idea. In the government, I work. You are the president’s wife. These are the offspring of the President. Something should happen because I don’t think it would be a good idea for my two kids to play with your two kids. When she eventually realized what was wrong, she said, “Okay.”
Naturally, Clint Hill was there that awful November 1963 day in Dallas, Texas. He is recognizable in photos as the Secret Service operative who got into the automobile after JFK was shot.
Hill accompanied Jackie Kennedy to the hospital, and he was given credit for ensuring that no pictures were taken. He naturally desired to keep Kennedy’s privacy private. But she did something he didn’t anticipate when they got on the plane to return to Washington.
Instead of lamenting the death of her cherished spouse, Jackie Kennedy inquired about Clint Hill’s well-being.
“Oh, Mr. Hill, what’s going to happen to you now?” she exclaimed. Clint noted in the interview that “she was so much more concerned about my well-being and that of the other agents that were involved, that she wanted to make sure that we were going to be okay.”
“And I assured her, Mrs. Kennedy, I would be alright. I’ll be alright. She wasn’t dressed differently. She hadn’t tidy up. She was just shocked; she hadn’t done anything. Furthermore, she cared about us more than she did about herself.
3 Incredible Stories Shared by Stewardesses from the Business Class Cabin
Have you ever wondered what wild secrets fly above the clouds in business class? Stewardesses are the ultimate keepers of sky-high stories, and their tales range from the heartwarming surprises to jaw-dropping twists that you’d never expect.
In this collection, we’re peeking into the fascinating world of the business class cabin where the drinks flow, the demands are high, and no two flights are ever the same.
So sit back, fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy these three unforgettable stories shared by flight attendants who’ve seen it all from 30,000 feet.
Two smiling flight attendants | Source: Midjourney
Millionaire Mocks Poor Woman with 3 Kids on Business Class Flight until Pilot Interrupts Him
From the moment the mother with three little kids boarded, I could tell it was her first time in business class. The way she guided the kids, eyes wide with excitement, reminded me of my own first flight years ago.
But while I was all set to make their experience great, the man in the next seat was far from pleased.
“Are you kidding me?” he scoffed as she took the seat beside him, wrangling her bags and kids with the careful grace that only a mom could manage.
A mom with three kids in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
“Miss,” he barked at me. “You’re really letting them sit here?”
“Sir, these seats are hers. She has every right to sit here,” I said, offering him my calmest smile, but he just rolled his eyes.
He didn’t let up, not even when she apologized for the trouble.
A smiling flight attendant | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, trust me, I have a meeting to join on this flight,” he grumbled. “And I’m going to need silence. Absolute silence. These kids won’t be silent, I can tell.”
I watched as the woman settled her kids, motioning for them to stay quiet. They did their best, though the youngest couldn’t help the occasional squeal of excitement when he saw the clouds out of the window.
Still, the businessman acted like they were playing drums in his ears, dramatically sighing every few minutes.
A grumpy business man | Source: Midjourney
About an hour into the flight, I brought him his coffee and cookies, trying to smooth things over.
“Thank you, miss,” he said with a dismissive tone, barely looking up. I gave the kids fruit cups, thinking that they would be the quietest snacks for them. I didn’t want the businessman to lash out at them over nothing.
But when his conference call ended, he seemed pleased enough to answer when the mother leaned over to ask about the designs in his notebook.
Fruit cups in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, those?” he chuckled. “My company makes fabrics. Real fabrics,” he added, eyeing her clothes in a snooty way that made my stomach twist.
She looked down, fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist, trying to brush off his words.
“Actually,” she said softly, “I own a small boutique in Texas. We make a lot of our own designs. It’s nothing compared to what you do, I’m sure. But it’s something that I’m proud of.”
A woman looking out of an airplane window | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” he sneered. “But you see, I just closed a million-dollar deal with one of the biggest design firms in the world. International Fashion Week big. I doubt a… boutique can even imagine what that’s like.”
He said the word “boutique” like it was a dirty word, and I could see her cheeks color.
But she didn’t snap back at him. Instead, she just nodded.
“Well, congratulations, sir,” she said simply.
A business man sitting in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
I admired her patience. I was about to check on her when the captain’s voice came over the speaker.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re beginning our descent to JFK,” he announced. “I’d also like to thank my beautiful wife, Debbie, and our three kids, who are here with us today. Deb, I couldn’t have done this without you.”
I glanced over at the woman and watched her eyes widen in shock. Her hand flew to her mouth as her cheeks flushed with surprise. She turned to her kids, who were giggling in excitement.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“And a special thank you to our passengers in first class. Thank you for making my family’s first business class flight one to remember. She has taken a huge leap of faith today, as it’s my first flight back after a long break. Deb, you’re my rock.”
The entire cabin was silent as the captain emerged from the cockpit. He held a small ring box, grinning ear-to-ear as he knelt before her.
A pilot holding a ring box | Source: Midjourney
“Debbie,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Will you spend forever with me… again? And, don’t worry! My co-pilot is in charge of the plane!”
Passengers clapped, and I caught more than a few teary smiles.
“Yes!” Debbie exclaimed.
As for the businessman? He just sat there, gaping. His smug expression was nowhere in sight. And I couldn’t resist glancing at him, raising my brow. Soon, the flight’s descent was over, and we were almost ready to disembark.
A business man looking out of a window in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
“You know,” Debbie said, turning to the businessman. “Not everyone values money above all else. Some of us just value the people we love. And that? That’s something money can’t buy.”
I watched her gather her children and walk off with her husband, leaving the businessman looking small in a way I doubted he’d ever felt before.
As for me, I couldn’t help but smile. Not all stories end perfectly, but this one?
It was as close as it gets.
A smiling flight attendant | Source: Midjourney
Woman Leaves Newborn on Business Class Plane Seat, Decides to Find Him 13 Years Later
From the moment I spotted the baby left behind on that business class seat, something inside me knew he’d been abandoned.
Working as a flight attendant, I’d encountered plenty of unusual situations, but never had I found a tiny newborn left alone, bundled in a soft blue blanket with nothing but a note beside him.
A newborn baby in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
I remember how quiet the cabin felt as I read it. The handwriting was shaky, but her words were clear:
I’m a young mother who just cannot provide a good life for him. Please, take him in, cherish him… I’ve started calling him Matthew. But that’s not important… Just make sure that his last name is Harris.
My heart twisted as I held him. It was such a raw and heartbreaking choice for a mother to make.
A flight attendant holding a baby | Source: Midjourney
I didn’t know her story, but I knew in that moment that I wanted to be part of this baby’s life. I didn’t have any children of my own, and when I looked into his tiny, sleeping face, I felt an overwhelming urge to protect him.
My husband, Deon, and I had always dreamed of adopting, and I felt that maybe, somehow, fate had put him in our lives.
The adoption process was long and complex, but we named him Matthew, just as his mother had named him, and we kept Harris as his second name. Deon wanted us to give him our name.
A baby in a crib | Source: Midjourney
“Lincy,” he said, “this is our son now. As much as his birth mother wanted Harris to be his last name, she’s not here. We can compromise and give it to him as a second name. But Thomas will be his last name.”
It was also important to us that Matthew grew up knowing about his mother’s note. When he was thirteen, I finally shared that part of his story.
Our boy took it well, nodding thoughtfully as he held the note.
A little boy sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“Did she love me?” he asked, and I could only tell him what I believed was true.
“Yes, my love,” I said. “She loved you enough to make the hardest choice of all.”
Years passed, and Matthew thrived. He excelled in school, made friends easily, and became the center of our world.
But I could always sense a lingering curiosity in him about where he came from, a desire to fill in the missing pieces.
A little boy sitting in a classroom | Source: Midjourney
Then, one afternoon, my phone rang. I was on holiday, finally choosing to be on the ground instead of in the skies. It was an unknown caller, but when I picked up, a nervous voice stammered.
“Is this Lincy? The flight attendant? I think… I think you adopted my son.”
There was a pause as my heart skipped a beat. For the past thirteen years, this was a call that I had feared.
“Yes, Matthew? He’s my son now.”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
The woman on the other end introduced herself as Rhonda. She sounded relieved and terrified all at once. She told me her story in halting sentences: how she’d left her father’s house when she got pregnant at nineteen, been rejected by her boyfriend, and how she struggled alone in New York City.
She said she regretted leaving Matthew every single day but had never had the means to find him until now.
“Would you allow me to meet him?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. “Just once. I just want him to know why I did what I did.”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
I hesitated but finally agreed. I could tell that this was something Matthew needed, too, even if he didn’t know it yet.
A week later, we arranged a meeting at a quiet café. When Rhonda walked in, she looked nervous and held a small photo album in her hands. Matthew looked her over, curious but guarded.
I didn’t know what to expect, but I could feel my heart in my throat as I watched them. I would have rather sat through turbulence than this.
The interior of a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“Hi, Matthew,” Rhonda began. “I’m… the woman who left you on that plane. I know it’s unforgivable, but I did it because I thought you’d have a better life without me.”
Matthew sat quietly for a moment.
“Why didn’t you just try to raise me?” he asked.
Rhonda’s eyes filled with tears.
An upset woman sitting in a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“I was homeless, my father kicked me out. I had no support. I didn’t know how I’d survive, let alone care for you. But it’s something I regret every day.”
The tension eased slightly, and I watched as they spoke.
As we left, Matthew gave her a small nod.
A boy sitting at a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“Thanks… for coming back, I guess,” he said.
Today, Matthew is twenty-three, and he’s grown into an incredible young man. He’s forgiven Rhonda, even if I’m the only one he calls “Mom.”
I love my job; it’s been rewarding in many ways. But when I applied for a job as a flight attendant, I would never have guessed that I would find my son on a plane.
A smiling young man | Source: Midjourney
I Served a Rich Couple on a Plane, Next Day My Mom Introduced Me to Her Young Fiancé from the Same Plane
As a flight attendant, I’ve seen my share of surprises, but nothing like this. High above the clouds, I served a sharply dressed man, Edwin, and his stunning date, Isabella, in business class.
He gifted her a necklace in a velvet box, and I remember how her eyes sparkled as he fastened it around her neck. They looked like a picture-perfect couple.
I remember wondering if I would ever find such a love in my life.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Midjourney
“Thank you for making this flight special,” Edwin said to me with a warm smile, slipping me a generous tip.
The next day, I visited my mom, and she greeted me with a surprise of her own.
“Kristi, meet my fiancé, Edwin!” she exclaimed.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Midjourney
My heart nearly stopped as that same Edwin from the previous day stepped forward, wearing the same charming smile from the flight.
“Nice to meet you, Kristi,” he said, shaking my hand like we were strangers.
I forced a smile, wondering how to tell my mom that her new fiancé was a complete fraud.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
Over dinner, Edwin shared stories of his “travels,” but every time I pressed for details, he’d brush them off with a laugh.
“The past is the past, ladies,” he’d say, making me even more suspicious. Later, I pulled Mom aside on the balcony, needing to say something.
“Mom, Edwin’s lying to you,” I said. “I saw him yesterday with another woman on my flight. He gave her jewelry, called her his ‘gorgeous Isabella,’ and the works. You’re not the only one he’s seeing.”
Food on a table | Source: Midjourney
My mom’s face hardened.
“Kristi, you’re being ridiculous. Edwin loves me, and maybe you’re just not ready for me to move on after your father.”
“Mom, please,” I said. “He’s scamming you! We know nothing about him.”
But she just turned away, dismissing me.
An upset woman standing on a balcony | Source: Midjourney
As fate would have it, Isabella tracked me down later that week having lost an earring on the flight, and remembered that I had taken care of her while on board.
I met her at one of the airport’s cafés, where she confirmed my fears.
“He asked me for money for an ’emergency,’” she said. “I was about to help him.”
An airport café | Source: Midjourney
We hatched a plan to catch him in the act. The next evening, at an upscale restaurant where Edwin was meeting Isabella, I posed as a waitress.
My heart raced as I approached their table, refilling his wine and “accidentally” spilling some on him.
“Watch it!” he snapped, barely glancing at me.
Spilled wine on a table | Source: Midjourney
But during the commotion, I’d swapped his phone for a decoy, using the opportunity to go through his messages. Sure enough, his phone was filled with dating profiles and messages to other women.
But Edwin noticed his phone was gone, and he also noticed where I was hiding.
“I know you took it!” he barked, rounding in on me.
A woman holding a phone | Source: Midjourney
“I’m not letting you fool my mother,” I said, staring him down.
But Edwin only smirked.
“Your mother’s an adult. She knows what she wants.”
Days later, as Edwin prepared to marry my mom in a small chapel, I watched from outside, defeated. My mother had refused to listen to me.
The interior of a chapel | Source: Midjourney
But then, one by one, the women he’d deceived arrived, led by Isabella. They stormed the chapel in a fury.
“Scammer!” they echoed as they walked in.
Edwin tried to run but was swarmed by angry women hurling shoes and purses. In the end, my mom couldn’t even look at me as she left in tears. But I knew one thing for sure: Edwin would never scam another woman again.
An upset bride | Source: Midjourney
These stories remind us that what happens mid-flight is rarely just about the journey… it’s about unexpected connections, hidden truths, and moments that change lives.
Next time you’re up in the clouds, just imagine the stories the person next to you might be bringing along.
If you’ve enjoyed this compilation, here’s another one for you |
3 Heart-Wrenching Stories About Little Kids Who Were Abandoned
What would drive a parent to abandon their own child? Journey with us through three gripping stories that unveil the raw emotions and unimaginable choices parents made. From the confines of a plane seat to the sterile walls of a hospital, witness the heart-wrenching decisions and the unyielding hope for redemption.
Life often presents us with impossible choices. In these three stories, we explore how certain difficult circumstances make people abandon their kids.
Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster as we go through the lives of three parents who had to part ways with their children.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Midjourney
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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