New information regarding the personal life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis has come to light in a new book. “Camelot’s Architect: The Untold Story of Jackie Kennedy, Lafayette Square and a Secret Romance” by architect John Carl “Jack” Warnecke was published after his passing and explores his secret relationship with the former first lady.
As the author dives into their romance and later friendship, Warnecke recalls just how unhappy Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was during her second marriage.
Warnecke’s Book Claims Jackie Kennedy Strongly Regretted Marrying Aristotle Onassis
After marrying Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968, Jackie Kennedy reportedly had regrets. In his book, Jack Warnecke recalls meeting the former first lady for lunch at her own apartment.
“The rooms were large and dark and the windows were covered with heavy curtains,” the architect writes in an excerpt exclusively obtained by PEOPLE. “Then suddenly we arrived at a light and contemporary room by a garden where a table was set for our lunch.”
“Ari had let Jackie free in this small area,” Warnecke continued. “She unhesitatingly expressed frustration that this one room was all she was allowed to decorate [and] told me she believed that her marriage to Onassis was the biggest mistake she had ever made.”
Despite the frustration, Aristotle and Jackie Onassis stayed married until he passed away in 1975 from pneumonia. A few years later, Jack Warnecke divorced his second wife.
Warnecke Insists He Never Had a Physical Romance With the Former First Lady
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier married in 1953. After a heartbreaking miscarriage and a subsequent stillbirth, they went on to welcome their daughter Caroline in 1957 and son John Jr. in 1960. They welcomed another son, Patrick, who passed away two days after birth.
In “Camelot’s Architect,” Jack Warnecke discusses meeting John F. Kennedy in 1956. After he became president, Kennedy suggested that Warnecke lead a preservation project in Lafayette Square. PEOPLE reports that the architect was a close friend of JFK’s up until his tragic assassination in 1963.
After the president’s passing, Jackie and Warnecke developed a close friendship which eventually blossomed into something more.
“In these later years, it seemed to me she delighted in advising me in what she perceived to be my serious relationships with other women, Or possibly, she was testing me,” Warnecke wrote.
“Sometimes Jackie would come and visit me at my apartment on her way home from work,” he continued. “She casually would lounge at the foot of the bed, as I leaned my back against the tall headboard, talking away intimately and easily for hours and giving each other the kind of truthful advice only two people who are very close can.”
Warnecke insisted they never had a physical relationship, simply a close emotional connection.
Jacqueline Kennedy passed away from cancer in 1994, with Jack Warnecke following in 2010. He tasked his daughter with publishing his memoir based on his writings.
“Camelot’s Architect: The Untold Story of Jackie Kennedy, Lafayette Square and a Secret Romance” will be available on November 10.
New Memoir Reveals Jackie Kennedy Regretted Her Second Marriage