Who Was John Kennedy's Secret Mistress, Respected Even by His Wife Jackie and Murdered After the President?

The death of Mary Meyer is shrouded in mystery, much like the assassination of her lover, John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. To this day, investigators strive to uncover the true nature of their relationship and why both were killed under suspicious circumstances just a year apart.

"Why don’t you ever leave the suburbs? Come to me—either here, or to the sea next week, or on October 19th in Boston. I know it’s unwise, irrational, and that you might hate it all. On the other hand, maybe not—and I’d be thrilled. You say it’s good for me not to get what I want. After all these years, you owe me a kinder answer than that. Why don’t you just say ‘yes’?” wrote John Kennedy in a letter addressed to his secret lover Mary Meyer just days before his death. He wrote it, but never sent it.

This letter became the sole tangible evidence of the secret love between the U.S. president and his communist companion, the wife of a CIA agent. In 2016, it was auctioned for $89,000. Around the world, researchers continue to grapple with the mystery of the beautiful Mary’s death and attempt to determine her role in the fate of the 35th U.S. president. Was she a comrade in arms? A fatal spy and seductress? Or a tragic woman who spent her life fighting for truth?

John Kennedy’s sexual escapades were legendary: he constantly felt the need to prove his power and status—both professionally and romantically. This heartthrob was equally adept at being a charming host and a mischievous boy whose timely glance could send guests into fits of laughter.

Many dreamed of his wife, the beautiful Jackie, and many envied John. “He possesses such a treasure!” To such remarks, he would only respond with a smirk.

The number of lovers of one of America’s most charismatic presidents is incalculable: most affairs only became public knowledge later, often through anonymous sources.

Even the letter to Mary Meyer, handwritten by John Kennedy on special watermark paper, initially met with skepticism. Experts had to work hard to authenticate it for the American public. Yes, it’s uncomfortable—many hoped the Marilyn Monroe scandal would be the last. Why disturb the past and discuss the intimate life of a deceased president? Perhaps because Kennedy’s assassination remains unsolved, as does the mysterious death of Mary Meyer—a year after her lover’s demise.

Mary Pinchot Meyer was born in October 1920 in New York to a wealthy and influential family of “revolutionaries.” Deeply engaged in politics and social issues, her parents held progressive and often dangerous views for the ruling elite. Amos Pinchot was a lawyer and a key figure in the Progressive Party with socialist leanings. His wife Ruth was a free-spirited journalist who wrote for The Nation, America’s oldest weekly magazine. To complete the picture, Mary’s uncle was none other than Gifford Pinchot, twice governor of Pennsylvania and a noted conservationist.

In college, Mary became interested in communism, and following her mother’s example, she became a journalist, immediately drawing FBI surveillance.

Internal security agencies feared that this overly active citizen and member of the labor party might eventually engage in espionage for the USSR.

When, in 1936, the 16-year-old Mary first met the 19-year-old John Kennedy—a brief “hello-goodbye” encounter—no one could have imagined they would become lovers years later.

Mary was not particularly interested in men; she wanted to act, serve society, and promote her views. However, fate had other plans. In 1944, Mary met Marine Lieutenant Cord Meyer. Their shared pacifism, political activism, and passion for racial and class freedom sparked their romance. They married in April 1945 and immediately traveled as invited journalists to the San Francisco conference where the United Nations was established. The newlyweds witnessed the birth of a hopeful future, at least they wanted to believe in it.

After this uplifting period, Mary stepped back from politics to raise their three sons.

There was little time for writing articles or studying international relations and Cold War power dynamics. When the children slept or played, Mary painted—finding solace in art for several years. But in 1951, after Cord was appointed to the CIA, much changed. Moving to Washington, D.C., specifically to the historic Georgetown neighborhood, meeting prominent agency members, and engaging in a lively social life reignited Mary’s political activism.

Three years later, in 1954, the Kennedys became their neighbors. John and Jacqueline bought a house nearby and immediately sought to meet the Meyers.

At the time, Georgetown women were more like the restrained, progressive “Jackies” than the openly sensual “Marilyns.” Stylish, refined, multilingual, knowledgeable about art, and knowing their place. Mary Meyer belonged to neither group. It is believed this was what captivated John Kennedy—she was always engaging, always ready for a debate. Her sharp, “masculine” intellect and impeccable knowledge of world affairs intrigued the president far more than her alluring figure. Though, rest assured, he noticed that too.

"He could talk to her as an equal," recalled an insider from the former president’s circle.

Initially, they socialized as neighbors, hosting family gatherings and parties, and their interactions stayed within acceptable bounds. According to various sources, the romance between Kennedy and Meyer began in 1960 and lasted three years.

“Her name first appeared in the White House guestbook in October 1962,” asserts Nina Burleigh, Mary Meyer’s biographer. In 1999, she published all available information about the president’s lover in the book titled A Very Private Woman.

Mary was never a convenient or “respectable” woman. She continued painting, and her abstract art impressed even connoisseurs. Her inspiration often came from forbidden substances. Drugs became another passion linking her to Kennedy.

Rumor has it that John often invited Meyer to the White House for unusual hallucinogenic dates, all while discussing the arms race.

“My research led me to believe Kennedy was sexually insatiable... Meyer was a high-society woman ahead of her time in modern art, personal style, and drug use. She largely anticipated the culture we associate with the 1960s,” says Burleigh.

One theory suggests Mary was recruited by the KGB to get close to the U.S. president and learn firsthand about his domestic and foreign policies. Her open sympathy for communists and socialists supports this claim.

Her husband, from whom she divorced in 1958, shared similar views and was accused by Senator McCarthy of treason. “Communist!” After this bold statement, the FBI launched an investigation. However, Cord and Mary Meyer were cleared, so it remains unclear if the revolutionary artist was truly connected to the USSR.

She kept detailed diaries of her meetings and conversations with John Kennedy. “She lived in a world of secrets... spies managing complex international conspiracies and controlling a dangerous world at the dawn of the nuclear age,” says Nina Burleigh.

Researchers still debate whether their relationship was more about calculation or genuine feelings. Burleigh is convinced: “She was always on his side and often by his side when Jackie was away.”

Only Mary and her sister’s husband, Ben Bradley, knew about the diary detailing her encounters with John. “Like everyone, we heard rumors of the president’s infidelity, but we could never say we had proof,” Bradley revealed. After reading the diary, he changed his mind: “It was clear her lover was the President of the United States, although his name was never mentioned.” He added he was “truly shocked by the deception.”

It’s unknown how long the Kennedy-Meyer affair would have lasted, but shortly before the president’s death, the lover distanced herself. Experts agree on one thing—Mary knew too much. Then the theories multiply.

One version claims she was aware of a conspiracy against her beloved and tried to save him but was mocked. Another suggests Meyer was involved in Kennedy’s assassination and distanced herself to protect her own safety. A third theory posits Mary became disillusioned with John, who “gave up” politically, and left him. Perhaps his enemies noticed his weakness because just months after their split—on November 22, 1963—he was assassinated.

Mary Meyer was not deeply shaken by John Kennedy’s death. Outwardly calm and even cynical, her silence seemed to say, “I knew it all along.” Yet, she never betrayed her lover. While a shocked public mourned, Mary took up the pen for the first time in ages. She decided to reveal her version of the president’s death and spent a year gathering all the information she knew—of which there was plenty. Researchers believe she uncovered a conspiracy involving high-ranking officials. Mary sent her findings to the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination. On September 24, 1964, the commission published its final report with all possible theories. On October 12, Mary was shot dead.

Two days before her 44th birthday, Mary Meyer finished painting in her studio. It was midday, and she went for her usual walk along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. A black car with tinted windows stopped beside her. When Mary looked up, she smiled—it was her friend Polly Wisner and her husband, a CIA officer. Polly was the last person to see Mary alive.

After saying goodbye, Mary continued down the road. On the other side of the canal, two mechanics—Henry Wiggins and William Branch—were preparing to tow a car left on the road. They stopped their work when they heard a scream:
“Someone, help me!”

Later, in court testimony, Wiggins said he saw a black man standing over the body of a white woman across the road.

He immediately drove to the nearest gas station and called the police. Here, inconsistencies begin.

Wiggins claimed he heard two shots between 12:23 and 12:25 pm. But the prosecutor stated police arrived between 12:24 and 12:28 pm—quite fast! Many concluded the authorities must have been alerted before the shooting.

Another strange fact: no ambulance was called. Wiggins, watching from across the canal, couldn’t know for sure if the woman was dead. So why didn’t he or anyone else call for medical help?

During the trial, another unusual detail emerged: the abandoned car Wiggins claimed to tow did not exist. Court records from the garage showed no such vehicle. Was the car real? If not, where did it disappear? Wiggins could offer no clear explanation.

Besides the two mechanics, a third witness appeared—Lieutenant William Mitchell, a government employee who went for a run in broad daylight. While jogging is normal, investigations revealed “William Mitchell” was a pseudonym for a CIA agent. No records or residents named William Mitchell existed in Georgetown. So who was he, and why was he jogging past Mary minutes before her death?

In his memoirs, Ben Bradley insists the president’s last lover was killed by the government. The night after Mary’s death, he encountered CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton in her studio.

“He burst in looking for her diary,” explained Nina Burleigh.
Needless to say, after this break-in, no one ever found Mary Meyer’s diary again. It appears Angleton destroyed it.

Despite circumstantial evidence, the CIA agent was released. No weapons were found on him, and he provided substantial alibis. Not caught, not guilty.

Over time, Mary Meyer’s murder gathered more rumors and theories: killed by the KGB, secretly held in a CIA prison, her identity changed and exiled, or that she and Kennedy staged their deaths and lived quietly on a private island. Many versions exist, but truth grows elusive. Eventually, courts gave up on solving the sensational case. Mary’s death remains unsolved, just like John Kennedy’s assassination—and Marilyn Monroe’s death.

This love story had no happy ending. Such is the fate when relationships hold more secrets and silence than honesty and trust. John Kennedy and Mary Meyer’s bond went beyond a typical affair—they shared political views, progressive ideals, and a will to act until the very end.

Photos: Getty Images, EAST-NEWS

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