Jacqueline Bouvier and then Congressman John Kennedy were in the same social circle and attended the same functions several times but were formally introduced by a mutual friend, journalist Charles Bartlett, at a dinner party on May 8, 1952, Kennedy was at the time busy running for a seat at the Senate. The romance progressed slowly but eventually led to a proposal. [4]
They were married on September 12, 1953, at Newport, Rhode Island. The wedding was considered the social event of the season with an estimated 700 guests at the ceremony and 900 at the lavish reception that followed at Hammersmith Farm. Her wedding dress was created by the African-American designer, Ann Lowe of New York City.[5] The dress is now housed in the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts.
After a brief honeymoon, they returned to Washington, DC. Behind all the glamour, however, Jacqueline found it hard to adjust to the demands of political life and the pressure put on her by the Kennedy family. Her husband was a notorious womanizer and marriage did not change his ways. He also had serious health issues, suffering from Addison`s Disease, and from chronic and debilitating back pain from a wartime injury. He underwent two spinal surgeries which proved almost fatal due to complications. While he was recovering from the surgeries, Jacqueline encouraged him to write a book, Profiles in Courage, which is about several U.S. senators who had risked their careers to fight for the things in which they believed. The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.
Jacqueline suffered a miscarriage in 1955, and gave birth to a stillborn baby girl in 1956. All of this put considerable strain on the marriage and led to a brief separation, but the couple reconciled and moved in a townhouse on N Street in Georgetown. Jacqueline successfully gave birth to a second daughter, Caroline, in 1957, and to a son, John, in 1960, both via Caesarean section.
| Where/How First Met |
Dinner party |
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