By Jessica Hopper
Rock Center
Mimi Alford is speaking publicly for the first time about the secret she’s held for half a century. Alford claims that she had an 18-month-long affair with President John F. Kennedy when she was a White House intern.
“I think when you keep a secret and when you keep silent about something, you do it because you think it’s keeping you safe, but in fact, it’s deadly,” Alford told Meredith Vieira in an exclusive interview scheduled to air Wednesday on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.
In 1962, a 19-year-old Alford spent her summer in Washington, D.C., interning in the White House press office. She had just finished her freshman year at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Four days into her internship, Alford claims that JFK aide, David Powers, invited her to go swimming in the White House pool. Alford was surprised when the 45-year-old president joined her and two others in the pool.
“It really didn’t seem unnatural, just because everybody was friendly and I went back to work afterwards,” Alford said. “No one said anything.”
Later that day, she says she received another call to visit the private floors of the White House. The naïve teenager didn’t question the president’s intentions when he asked to take her on a tour of the White House.
“The president came over to me and asked me if I’d like to take a tour of the second floor of the White House and see some of the rooms that had been redecorated. The last room that we went into was the bedroom and we walked into the bedroom and it was a beautiful room…I learned later that it was Mrs. Kennedy’s bedroom,” Alford said.
Alford says that she lost her virginity to the president in the first lady’s bedroom. In her soon to be released memoir, Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and its Aftermath, Alford described her first sexual encounter with the president writing that, “I wouldn’t describe what happened that night as making love, but I wouldn’t call it nonconsensual either.”
When asked if she felt overpowered by Kennedy, she told Vieira, “I think overpowered in the sense that he was the president. He was this unbelievably handsome man, 45 years old, overpowered in the fact that he had chosen me…and taken me on this tour. That's what I mean by being overpowered by the whole situation. Not overpowered physically that someone had grabbed me and done this to me and made me do something that I wasn't really willing to do, because I really think I was willing to do it.”
Alford emphasized to Vieira that if she had told the president no, he would have stopped. The affair continued for 18 months even after Alford returned to college.
“I think I was under the aura of, I had just a little bit of second thoughts, not enough to keep me from going back,” said Alford of the affair’s beginnings.
While interning, Alford would sometimes travel with the president. When she returned to college, he’d have arrangements made for her to come visit him. Sometimes, a limo would pick her up and take her to the airport to fly to Washington, D.C. Alford remembers doing homework in the limo as she headed to meet the president.
“I should have felt guilty. He was married to Mrs. Kennedy, but I didn’t at the time feel guilty,” Alford said.
Looking back now, Alford says that she realizes she was at Kennedy’s beck and call.
“I think that’s probably partly what makes me feel sad when I look back. It made me feel very special,” Alford said.
Alford described Kennedy as “boyish” and “shy” around her.
“I’m not going to say he loved me, but I think he did like me a lot. He cared about me,” she said. “Just the way he was, the way he smiled with me. I feel that he did. I feel that he actually cared about me.”
When pressed by Vieira about whether she really believes that Kennedy had genuine feelings for her or if believing that is simply a way for her to comfort herself all these years later, Alford said, “I think it’s a little bit of both.”
Now 68, Alford’s soon to be released memoir shares explicit details about the affair, including a claim that the president encouraged her to have sexual relations with at least one other person at the White House. Alford says that keeping the affair secret was more damaging than the affair itself. She said that it affected her relationships and contributed to the demise of her first marriage.
Alford was first publicly outed in 2003 when historian Robert Dallek wrote 37 words about an unnamed intern who had an affair with Kennedy in his biography of Kennedy called An Unfinished Life. The New York Daily News identified her and Alford issued a simple written statement confirming her secret relationship. She faded into obscurity, but said that the secret eventually became too much to hold inside.
“It’s not so much that I feel that I’m exposing myself, it’s that I’m really unburdening myself, it was a very difficult thing for me to do,” Alford said. “In fact, most mornings when I woke up I thought I don’t want to get up and write this book, I want to hide under the covers.”
Editor’s Note: Meredith Vieira’s exclusive interview with Mimi Alford airs Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 9pm/8c on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams. Vieira talks to Alford at length in the author's first candid interview.
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I think Today has really given this story way too much air time..we have no idea if this woman is a complete liar..just hurting Caroline who is the only one left to be hurt...whats this womans point anyway..her 5 minutes of fame...
who cares it is a free country, Caroline is an adult she needs to deal with it.
Lynn-Marie I agree there is still Caroline and other family members, I don't understand why after 50 years....like I said I would have taken it to my grave! I don't know if I believe everything she said...to me it was a sad day.... for her to destroy the image of a great American icon that many of us still think today that JFK was one of the great President....he lifted our country at a time that we needed it: and gave us hope! I was there I know!!!
Mimi Alford in many ways was just like Monica Lewinski. Enthralled by a powerful persona at 19yrs, she was just a receptacle to be used as a form other than masturbation. Back then women were still treated as property. What the man wanted they were compelled to obey. Society then was all about men with few women other than Gloria Steinem raising cane to be heard. The moral fiber of america's dirty laundry isn't new. america's self serving viewpoint as the light of the world has been a lie and hypocritical for many decades. More Power to Ms. Mimi Alford to have the Guts to Speak out against Abuse of Power from a so-called super man whose only vow of Office was to his own satisfaction.
I listen to her last night and again this morning and it made me just sick in my stomach. There are many of us that loved President Kennedy he was my first President to vote for and his death was a shock to so many of us. I do not after 50 year appreciate her story of an American Icon.... to so many some of the details I did not care to know. I will not be buying her book. This is not the First President study your history there were others from both parties. Why she felt to destroy his image after so many years of keeping the secret I do not understand; I would have taken it to my grave.
U apparently did not LISTEN during the interview
she was outed in the autobiography by Deleck
How much is she making off of this whole deal. Do you think for one moment that money isn't the motivating factor in this whole fiasco??? She an old whore that is in need of Money!! And before you jump down my throat, answer this. If a young woman believes a man loves or admires her why would he ask her to blow another man?? And SHE DOES IT??? And the real kicker is, they are both Catholics....so much for Christian Morals.....next!
autobiography by Deleck " Did Deleck name her by name in his book???? Is the only poof they had was her word???? The interview should of shown POOF...the only fact that was said on the interview was she was a intern at the white house period."She told the guy she was going to married at that time of JFK death. He still married her but told her to not tell anyone.." where is he now ???? Is there anyone alive that can comfirm her story????? I bet there is none. Our news ppl should of found some kind of poof before putting this on the air.. Something other then her word...if she felt guilty she could of anytime when to her priest and ask for forgiveness. But to go on national air waves and publicly hurt JFK family is not clearing her mind it was for the MONEY period...ppl are going to question the time period!!!! why come out now when everyone is dead???? i would be ashame to publicly come out about giving blow jobs and being a whore for the JFK or anyone else for that matter. wonder what kind of mother is this MImi to put this out for her children and grandchildren to bare in the public eye.
I find it amazing that Mrs. Alford could remember enough details to fill a book after 60 years. Especially since she supposedly didn't ever discuss this with anyone. I came of age in the early 70's and had some pretty racy encounters, myself. I don't think I could remember enough to fill more than a couple of paragraphs, let alone a novel. I think Mrs. Alford has had alot of "help" and I, for one, would be interested in knowing who is REALLY behind her decision to come forward.
This woman is a straight out ho just like Marilyn Monroe and Angie Dickenson. ! I don't care if she was 19 years old. I was 19 and married men and old men were constantly hitting on me and offering money, trips, etc. and I had more respect for myself than to give in to them. Now that she's old and wringled she wants to cash in on her story to supplement her SSI. What a joke she is. Besides, everyone knows JFK was a little sick whore with a bad back.
If your going down in History Books
I would rather it be the truth from me
And not just a mention in a paragraph
I get her meaning in telling her side
Wonder what Mary Meyer (the wife of Cord Meyer of CIA) who was giving JFK marijuana an LSD in the White House
would have said
we will never no as she was murdered (same people that got JFK according to Cord Meyer) adays after JFK assasinated
when Ben Bradlee (of Washington Post) heard she had been killed he went to her house to retrieve her diary (where everyone knew she wrote everything down)
who should he find already there James Angleton of CIA
No diary ever found. Murder never solved.
I can not undertand how devoted nearly an hour to this woman. That lack of respect not only to Presidet Kennedy and his family. Missing values and disrespect herself, who care where and who lost her virginity. It's AMAZING what tey do for money
I miss my swimming Pool I had to Leave my home :(
When one is young there can be for some unique moments, how one confronts these situations, what they do with them and who they share these events with can be uncomfortable. When I was a teenager I had a direct line to The White House. I met extremely powerful politicians, American movie stars, head of corporations, leader of religions. Later in life when I was in the military I once "got in trouble". I had two military lawyers questioning me. I asked if I could make one phone call and they granted my request. I wrote the number for them to call and after they looked at the number they refused to put though my call. Less than 24 hours later the charges were dropped. There are a lot of secrets in this world. I guess there has to be these secrets to conform to what is viewed as acceptable to the public. Mimi Alford is one of these unique people that decided to share her story. Camelot is a myth...there was a lot of hay flying around in the barn. I once asked my attorney Roy Cohn if I should share my experiences.....his reply was "you be dead in a month".