A New Chapter: Jackie Kennedy's Wedding to Aristotle Onassis
Let me tell you the story of Jacqueline Kennedy’s second marriage. This was a moment that left the world talking. For her second wedding, Jackie Kennedy chose an elegant, knee-length, ivory lace Valentino dress, paired with a simple white ribbon in her hair. The ceremony was a private affair, attended by only 40 guests, including her children, Caroline and John Jr. These two young ones held lit candles during the 45-minute Greek Orthodox ceremony as Jackie exchanged vows with Aristotle "Ari" Onassis. Afterward, she shared with reporters, “We are happy,” before departing for her honeymoon aboard Ari’s luxurious superyacht, Christina O.
Now, this marriage to a foreigner 23 years her senior shocked many Americans. Jackie herself might have been surprised at how quickly she transitioned from a grieving widow to the wife of a billionaire tycoon, all within five years. In her own words, “When you look back on your life, you hardly recognize the person you once were. Like a snake shedding skins,” she once reflected, capturing the essence of her transformation.
From Widowhood to Wealth: Jackie’s Life After Tragedy
Widowed at the young age of 34, Jackie had barely begun to recover from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy when her brother-in-law, Robert Kennedy, was tragically gunned down in 1968. “She spent four years dealing with the death of her husband and then it all happened again. She feared for her life and feared for her children,” explains Paul Brandus, author of Jackie: Her Transformation from First Lady to Jackie O, in the latest issue of Closer Weekly. Onassis offered Jackie something she desperately needed—security. With his own private island in Greece, a personal army of 75 heavily armed men, and ownership of an airline, Ari could provide Jackie with the safety and stability she craved.
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A Life of Luxury and Culture
After marrying Ari, Jackie continued to live primarily in New York, where her children attended school. Caroline and John Jr. enjoyed summers on Skorpios with their new stepfather. “Jackie had a liking for a kind of buccaneer. Her father, Black Jack Bouvier, was kind of a rogue back in his day,” explains William Kuhn, author of Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books. Ari also possessed a cultured side that resonated with Jackie. “He was extraordinarily charming and a good listener,” Brandus notes. “He could talk about opera and paintings and spoke several languages.”
And let’s not forget the wealth factor. Despite her aristocratic background, Jackie lacked significant personal wealth. “The joke is that Onassis gave Jackie a blank check — and she exceeded it!” Brandus quips. Though Ari provided Jackie with a monthly allowance of $30,000, she often surpassed it, reportedly spending $1.25 million — equivalent to about $9 million today — on clothing alone in the first year of their marriage.
Redecorating and Restricting
Jackie, ever the tastemaker, couldn’t resist redecorating, just as she had done at the White House. However, some of Ari’s opulent decor left her unimpressed. “She didn’t care for conspicuous consumption. She was all about quiet good taste,” Kuhn explains. Ari, however, had his limits. “On Skorpios, she was allowed to decorate the Pink House,” Oline Eaton, author of the forthcoming Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: An Alarming Life, reveals. “The Christina was his domain. He did not want its decor changed at all.”
The Marriage's Challenges
As the marriage began to sour, Ari started publicly seeing his former flame, opera star Maria Callas. In response, Jackie was photographed in New York in the company of other men. Ari justified the gossip by saying, “Jackie is a little bird that needs its freedom as well as its security and she gets them both from me.” He added, “She can do exactly as she pleases … and I, of course, will do exactly as I please. I never question her and she never questions me.”
