Jackie Kennedy ignored Maria Callas’ affair with husband Aristotle Onassis: Friends
When Jackie Kennedy learned that her husband, Aristotle Onassis, was having an affair with Maria Callas, she did what she knew best – turned a blind eye.
The claim was made by Onassis’ long-time personal secretary, Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos. Her memoir, The Women of Onassis , delves into the love triangle.
Callas, a superstar soprano who died in 1977, is the subject of a new biopic starring Angelina Jolie.
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Angelina Jolie plays Maria Callas. (Netflix)
“Onassis never stopped seeing Maria,” Moussasos, 75, told Fox News Digital. “A week after he got married, he went to see her a lot. I would say three or four times a week. Jackie was smart and she realized pretty quickly what was going on.”
The former first lady asked her spouse’s sister, Artemis Onassis, about the shipping magnate’s not-so-secret relationship with the singer.
“I pretended I didn’t hear anything,” Mousasos recalled. “But Artemis said to her, ‘Never mind, because in Greece this happens all the time.’ Onassis fell in love with Jackie, but he was also used to seeing and being with Maria.
When Jacqueline Kennedy learned that her husband, Aristotle Onassis, was having an affair with Maria Callas, she allegedly followed his sister’s advice and ignored it. (Getty Images)
“Jackie followed Artemis’ advice,” she shared. “Onassis and Maria are twins (flames). They cannot be separated.”
According to Biography.com, Callas and Onassis met at a party in 1957. The relationship was tumultuous, and Onassis eventually began to pay attention to the widowed Kennedy.
Onassis married Kennedy in 1968.
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In 1968, Jackie Kennedy left the chapel on his private island after her wedding to Aristotle Onassis. (Getty Images)
Kennedy believed Onassis’s money and power would provide protection for her family. Her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, followed by her brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968.
Moussasos said she initially wondered why Kennedy chose to turn a blind eye to Onassis’s infidelities. But then she realized this was nothing new for the mother of two.
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“Jackie was used to being around her former husband, the president,” Moussosos said. “But she also needed a strong man by her side. Onassis was the perfect man. He would provide security not only for her but also for her children. Onassis loved her children, little John and Caroline.
“I pretended not to hear anything. But Artemis said to her, ‘Never mind, because in Greece this happens all the time.'” Onassis fell in love with Jackie, but he was also used to being with Maria meets and stays together.
Jacqueline Kennedy trusted Aristotle Onassis to provide safety and protection to her family. (Central News Agency/Getty Images)
“I remember that day [his private island] For Scorpio people, he will bring them various animals and toys to make them happy. He was used to giving her a lot of surprises.
“I remember he would ask me to call a famous jeweler here and bring the best, most expensive things. We would spend hours looking at the jewelry, trying to find the best one for her.”
“Don’t you think women like that? I would say that,” she said with a smile.
Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos’s memoir, Onassis Women: Eyewitness Accounts, was published in 1998. (Putnam Bar Group)
Although the two women had never met, Callas was hostile to Onassis’s bride. Moussasos claimed that Callas and Onassis often quarreled over Kennedy.
“Maria was jealous,” Mousasos said. “She wanted to be with Onassis and have him by her side all the time, but it was impossible. They were too similar… but Maria was also a very strong character. She was very proud. Jackie was more of a little girl.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s first husband, President John F. Kennedy, reportedly had an affair with Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. (Frank Povolny/Twentieth Century Fox/Sunset Strip/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Maria never liked this relationship with Jackie,” Mousasos shared. “Whenever she was on the boat (Onassis’s yacht, the Christina), she would read the newspapers and see pictures of Onassis and Maria. Then there would be wars on the boat.”
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Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis often quarreled over his wife, Jackie Kennedy. (Ulstein Pictures/Ulstein Pictures via Getty Images)
Moussasos points out that it is easy to understand why Onassis wanted to marry Kennedy.
“I remember the first day I met her,” she said. “She came down the stairs of the house. She was like a queen, a princess. But she acted like a little girl. She was very polite and her voice was very soft. I remember she was very happy because we started talking in French because Onassis’s sister also spoke French, so we started talking.
“Jackie has always been shy,” she shared. “Whenever she called to speak to her husband, she would always ask me if Mr. Onassis was available. It was never, ‘I want to speak to my husband.'”
Angelina Jolie stars as Maria Callas in “Maria” and Haluk Bilgena stars as Aristotle Onassis. (Netflix)
There were other problems in Kennedy’s marriage to Onassis, involving another woman, her daughter-in-law, Christina Onassis.
“Christina and [her brother] Alexander didn’t like her at all,” Moussasos said. “Jackie tried to approach them but they avoided meeting her and talking to her.
“The day Jackie and Onassis got married, it rained all day,” Mousasos said. “In Greece we believe that if someone gets married when it rains, it’s good luck. But that’s not the case.”
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Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) and Maria Callas (1923-1977). Onassis’ long-time personal secretary, Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, described the two as twin flames who never stopped falling in love. (Helton Files/Getty Images)
Onassis never left his former lover. Moussasos said they remained together until his death in 1975.
“When Onassis died, Maria felt hopeless,” she explains. “I remember she called me almost every day because she wanted to know how to handle the whole situation. She didn’t want to see Jackie, she didn’t want to see [Onassis’] children. They don’t like any woman around their father. It’s not personal. They just kept believing that one day their father would be with their mother again. Maria knew this.
Aristotle Onassis refused to give up his long-time love, his secretary claimed. (Ron Galera/Ron Galera Collection via Getty Images)
“I helped her get to Skopios without anyone knowing,” Mousasos claimed. “She didn’t want to live anymore. She thought her life was useless because, yes, he married Jackie, but she could still be with him. Now he’s gone. They were made for each other.”
Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos believes Maria Callas died of a broken heart. (Ulstein Pictures/Ulstein Pictures via Getty Images)
After Onassis’ death, Callas retired from public life. Callas died of a heart attack at the age of 53. Moussasos is convinced the star died of a broken heart.
“There were reports that Maria was taking drugs – that’s not true,” she said. “The truth is she was heartbroken.”
After Onassis’ death, Moussasos remained in touch with Kennedy, who lived with her two children in New York City. She died there in 1994 at the age of 64.
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Jackie Kennedy died in 1994 at the age of 64. (Ron Galera/Ron Galera Collection via Getty Images)
Today, Moussasos hopes to have her memoirs republished. She is also in talks with producers about the possibility of turning the book into a movie. She said her goal was to set the record straight.
“This is my family,” she said. “I just want people to know the truth.”
