why did jackie kennedy marry onassis

Jackie Kennedy is widely understood to have married Aristotle Onassis for a mix of emotional security, physical safety, money, and a clean break from the unbearable pressures of “Camelot” after the Kennedy assassinations. It was not a classic love story so much as a calculated, complicated survival move in a very public, very dangerous life.

Why Did Jackie Kennedy Marry Onassis?

The Emotional Context: Trauma and Fear

By 1968, Jackie had endured:

• The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, right beside her in the car.
• The assassination of her brother‑in‑law Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
• Years of intense media scrutiny and invasive public attention.

In a private letter to British diplomat David Ormsby Gore (a close friend and one-time suitor), she explained that after these losses she needed “peace” and “protection,” and that she could not go through more political life and tragedy. She emphasized that only she could decide what would make her feel safe and able to heal.

Many historians and biographers therefore see the marriage as partly a reaction to trauma:

• She feared more violence against herself and her children if she remained in the Kennedy orbit.
• She wanted distance from Washington and the constant replay of her husband’s assassination.

One way to understand it: after two public murders in the same family, she was less interested in romance and more in survival.

Security, Money, and Lifestyle

Writers and historians often stress that money and security were central to her decision.

Key points often mentioned:

• Jackie had grown up in a world where women were expected to marry wealth; her mother’s second marriage to the rich Hugh Auchincloss had shown her the comfort and status that came with serious money.

• She knew she did not have a guaranteed giant inheritance from the Kennedy or Auchincloss fortunes.

• Onassis was one of the richest men in the world, with a global shipping empire and private island (Skorpios), yachts, and staff that could shield her and her children.

A modern historian summed it up bluntly:

“All the evidence seems to indicate that Jackie did marry Onassis primarily for his money… and for the security it brought.”

Onassis, for his part, reportedly offered:

• A heavily protected, private lifestyle.
• Immediate financial resources and a concrete plan to keep her and the children safe.

So, from a practical standpoint, he looked like a ready-made solution to the biggest problems in her life: vulnerability and financial uncertainty.

Escaping the “Grieving Widow” Pedestal

Another motive often discussed is Jackie's desire to step off the pedestal of America’s tragic widow.

Commentators and biographers argue that she:

• Was tired of being frozen in time as the woman in the pink suit from Dallas.

• Knew marrying a controversial, older Greek tycoon would shatter that saintly image.
• Wanted to reclaim some control over her identity, even if it meant shocking people.

One historian notes she effectively used the marriage to “topple herself” from that pedestal. In other words:

• Staying alone = permanent symbol of American tragedy.
• Marrying Onassis = scandalous, but gave her agency, distance, and a new narrative.

What Her Own Words Suggest

That letter to David Ormsby Gore is the closest we have to her own explanation. In it, she:

• Turned down his marriage proposal.
• Said she needed a different kind of life after so much death and pressure.
• Defended her choice of Onassis by describing his kindness, wish to end her loneliness, and ability to offer safety and stability.

She essentially told him that he did not understand how deep her fear and exhaustion ran, and that only she knew what she could bear anymore.

How People Saw the Marriage at the Time

Reactions in 1968 were intense:

• American media described widespread “dismay” and shock at her sudden, secretive wedding on Onassis’s private island of Skorpios.

• Even her own mother and sister were reportedly surprised, learning of the marriage at the last minute.

Some common interpretations, both then and now:

• She married for money and protection (critical view).

• She married to escape politics, trauma, and public grief (more sympathetic view).

• She made a hard, pragmatic choice in a world where her safety was not guaranteed.

Her assistant later recalled that Jackie and Onassis sometimes seemed more like friends or companions than passionate lovers , reinforcing the idea that this was a practical, not fairy‑tale, match.

Their Relationship Dynamics

Their life together was glamorous but complicated:

• They had massive wealth, yachts, and homes in Greece and Europe, offering a buffer from the American press.

• The marriage was strained by Onassis’s long, ongoing affair with opera star Maria Callas, which predated his marriage to Jackie and continued after it.

• Onassis reportedly took pride in being married to a former First Lady, seeing it as a personal triumph.

According to his longtime secretary, he “couldn’t live without” Callas emotionally, even while being proud of his marriage to Jackie, suggesting that everyone involved understood this was not a conventional romance.

Multi‑Angle Summary

Putting it all together, most serious accounts converge on a layered explanation for why Jackie Kennedy married Onassis :

1. Safety and protection
   • After the murders of JFK and RFK, she feared more violence toward her family and wanted physical security and distance from U.S. politics.

2. Financial security and lifestyle
   • She had been raised to value wealth and social position; Onassis’s fortune guaranteed the standard of living she was used to, without depending on political families or uncertain inheritances.

3. Escape from the “national monument” role
   • Marrying him allowed her to stop being America’s permanent grieving widow, even if it meant scandal.

4. Companionship more than romance
   • Letters, staff recollections, and later memoirs suggest their bond was pragmatic and companionate, not a grand love story, and that Onassis’s emotional life remained tied to Maria Callas.

5. Her own agency after tragedy
   • Above all, it was a choice she made to regain some control in a life repeatedly shaped by public events and other people’s decisions.

Simple Answer

Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis largely to feel safe, financially secure, and free from the suffocating role of America’s grieving widow after multiple family assassinations; the marriage was pragmatic, more about protection and stability than romantic love, and she defended it as the only path she saw to a life she could endure.

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Why did Jackie Kennedy marry Onassis? Explore the real reasons behind Jacqueline Kennedy’s shocking 1968 marriage to Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis, from trauma and security to money, image, and legacy.

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