11 Biggest Political Affair Scandals That Will Go Down in History

Bill Clinton

Starting off this list with probably the most famous presidential affair in American history, former president Bill Clinton had an affair with one of his White House interns, Monica Lewinsky.

After denying the affair at first, and saying the now iconic line, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” Clinton later confessed after evidence, acquired by Lewinsky’s former friend Linda Tripp, was brought to light. Clinton and Lewinsky had reportedly been seeing each other from 1995 to 1997.

Clinton, who was married at the time, continues to be married to his wife, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 

John F. Kennedy

Throughout his time in office, John F. Kennedy was known for having a series of extramarital affairs. Among his reported dalliances were two of his secretaries, called Jill Cowan and Priscilla Wear, and Hollywood actresses including Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich and, of course, Marilyn Monroe. 

His affair with Monroe, of course, came to light after her now iconic performance of  “Happy Birthday” to Kennedy during a New York fundraiser. 

Despite the infidelity, JFK and his wife Jackie Kennedy remained married until his tragic assassination in 1963.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

During his time in office as Governor of California, news broke that Arnold Schwarzenegger had fathered a son with his former housekeeper, Mildred Baena, while still married to his wife, Maria Shriver. News of their son, now 26-year-old Joseph Baena, come out shortly after the announcement that Schwarzenegger and Shriver had gone their separate ways.

“I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f–k up,” he said in his Netflix series Arnold. “Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone. … I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life.”

James McGreevey

Back in 2004, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey admitted to having an extramarital affair, came out as gay and resigned from his position all in one speech. “At a point in every person’s life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one’s soul and decide one’s unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is,” McGreevey said in his speech, per CNN. “And so, my truth is that I am a gay American.” 

The confession, which happened after Golan Cipel, a former security aide to the governor, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, was done beside his then-wife, Dina Matos. The pair have since gotten divorced. After his resignation, Cipel dropped the lawsuit. 

Gary Hart

In 1988, former Colorado Democratic Senator Gary Hart was by all means the front-runner to become the next President of the United States. Those plans came crashing down, however, when rumors of his affair with model Donna Rice hit the tabloids. 

Hart initially denied the rumors until the picture above surfaced showing Rice sitting on Hart’s lap while he wore a T-shirt reading “Monkey Business Crew,” referring to the name of the yacht they’d partied on, was published, per History. Shortly after that, Hart dropped out of the race. Despite the extramarital affair, Hart and his wife, Lee, remained married until her death 2021.

John Edwards

Much like Hart, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was on quite a career high before it all came crashing down due to an affair. His relationship was with presidential campaign staffer Rielle Hunter, and it all happened while Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, was fighting cancer.

In addition to having an extramarital affair for over two years, Edwards also fathered a daughter, Quinn, with Hunter. 

Shortly after Edwards publicly admitted to the relationship with Hunter, his wife asked for a divorce. She sadly passed away before it was finalized. In 2012, Edwards was acquitted in a federal grand jury trial for allegedly using campaign funds to hide Hunter and their affair during the 2008 presidential race, ABC reports. 

Eliot Spitzer

Back in 2008, New York went wild when reports confirmed that the state’s Governor, Eliot Spitzer, was involved in a pricey prostitution scandal. Among the documents uncovered in the scandal were reports Spitzer spent up to $80,000 in prostitutes, including to one Ashley Dupre, who was paid up to $1,000 per hour with the politician. 

Spitzer and his ex-wife, Silda, were married until their divorce in 2013. 

Wilbur Mills

Buckle up, because this story’s quite a doozy.

Back in 1974, a woman by the name of Annabel Battistella, who went by the burlesque stage name of Fanne Foxe, was found freezing in icy waters of the Tidal Basin after jumping in to avoid being seen while Democratic Representative Wilbur Mills was stopped by the police for driving without headlights, per Intelligencer. That’s right, the two tried to hide their extramarital affair but got caught no matter what. 

Not long after the Tidal Basin incident, Mills got intoxicated and gave an impromptu press conference in Foxe’s burlesque house dressing room (pictured above). After the backlash from the night, Mills resigned. Mills and his wife Clarine “Polly” Billingsley Mills remained married until his death in 1992.

Alexander Hamilton

As fans of Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton will be able to tell you, rumors of Alexander Hamilton’s affair with a married woman, Maria Reynolds, reached a high when Hamilton himself released a 98-page pamphlet to set the record straight in 1797.

In it, Hamilton confessed to the affair. “The charge against me is a connection with one James Reynolds for purposes of improper pecuniary speculation,” he wrote, per Vulture. “My real crime is an amorous connection with his wife, for a considerable time with his privity and connivance, if not originally brought on by a combination between the husband and wife with the design to extort money from me.”

The affair, which is largely believed to be the first sex scandal in American history, didn’t destroy Hamilton marriage with his wife, Eliza. The two remained married until his death in 1804. 

Gary Condit

Former Congressman Gary Condit’s extramarital affair will go down in history for all the wrong reasons. After all, it all came to light because of a murder. 

Let’s backtrack: In 2001, Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy disappeared and was found dead after a bloody murder. In the investigation, the affair between Levy and Condit was revealed in police questioning. Despite having a connection with the victim, Condit’s involvement in her murder was quickly disproven. In 2017, Levy’s main suspect, called Guandique, was deported from the United States. 

Charles S. Robb

While married to Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter Lynda Bird Johnson, former Governor of Virginia Charles S. Robb had an extramarital relationship with former Miss Virginia Tai Collins. Although Collins claimed the two had sex at a motel, Robb denied the claim and said they only shared a glass of champagne and a “nude massage” instead.

“For a period of time at Virginia Beach, I let my guard down, and when I did I also let Lynda down,” Robb admitted in a letter, per New York Times. Robb, who went on to become Virginia’s Senator, is still married to Lynda.