This Scandalous First Lady Kept Many Secrets

Steely Facts About Eleanor Roosevelt, The Reluctant First Lady
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Steely Facts About Eleanor Roosevelt, The Reluctant First Lady
Mar 11
PEOPLE
Kyle Climans
A marriage poisoned by secrets. A lesbian love affair. And a first lady dogged by controversy. Right to the bitter end, Eleanor Roosevelt transformed the White House into a den of scandal—and her story is as empowering as it is twisted.
1. She Was Poor Little Rich Girl
Born to wealthy socialites Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, Eleanor made her grand entrance on October 11, 1884. Growing up smack dab in the middle of New York high society, young Eleanor was the picture of privilege. But although her life seemed  enviable, her childhood was  not a fairy tale. From the very beginning, her mother resented her—and for one heartbreaking reason.
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2. Her Mother Was Ashamed Of Her
In the eyes of her mother, Eleanor's "plainness" was shameful. Her looks inspired a coldness in the one person she looked to for unconditional love. To make matters worse, her mother also had the habit of calling her "Granny" because of her grave and introspective personality. But this was the least of her problems. Over the next decade, Eleanor would come face to face with a succession of life-changing tragedies.
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3. She Was In A Terrible Accident
When she was only two years old, Eleanor Roosevelt and her family were traveling aboard the SS Britannic— but it was a doomed voyage. On May 19, 1887, the ship crashed into the SS Celtic. The ensuing chaos swept little Eleanor up in a dramatic evacuation, her family escaping on lifeboats back to the safety of New York. Sadly, it affected the young girl in a terrible way.
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4. She Had A Lifelong Phobia
After the formative trauma of the SS Britannic  collision, Eleanor carried a phobia with her for the rest of her days: She was deathly afraid of ships and the sea. Oh, but that was only the beginning. In 1892, she suffered her first real loss when her mother Anne succumbed to diphtheria. It was the first crack in her family's foundation— and it only spiraled from there.
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5. She Suffered Unspeakable Losses
A year later, Eleanor's little brother, Elliott Jr. fell ill with the same infection that had taken her mother. He, too, did not survive. With two family members gone, Eleanor had only her father to look to for guidance—but to her horror, she watched helplessly as he fell off the deep end...literally. Perhaps of all her family members, his loss was the most disturbing of all.
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6. She Watched Him Unravel
As an unhinged drinker, Elliot Roosevelt ended up in a sanitarium. However, during a fit of delirium brought on by withdrawal, he flung himself out a window. Although he managed to survive the fall, he still couldn't outrun the grim reaper forever. In 1894, Elliot suffered a seizure and passed. However, before the end came, the troubled man looked to his daughter Eleanor and made one last request.
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7. She Grew Up Too Fast
Knowing that his family had fallen apart, Eleanor's father beseeched her to take on a  huge  responsibility—to become a mother to her little brother, Hall. She took this responsibility to heart and supported him throughout her life. Still, at only 14 years old, Eleanor still had a lot of growing up to do—and as she grew into a woman, her early tragedies became both her burden and the source of her superpower.
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8. She Was The Ugly Duckling
Passed into the care of her grandmother, Eleanor continued to grapple with dark thoughts about her self-worth: She still considered herself an "ugly duckling." Luckily, even at a young age, Eleanor was incredibly bright and inquisitive—and it led her to an enlightened understanding of beauty. At 14, she wrote, "No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her."
This revelation unlocked something crucial within Eleanor. And once she got rolling, she couldn't be stopped.
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9. She Was The Popular Girl
In her teens, Eleanor's confidence only grew. Sent to a private finishing school, she broke out of her shell and captured the hearts of her peers. One of her cousins, Corinne, who also attended Allenswood Academy, described Eleanor as "'everything' at the school. She was beloved by everybody." For the first time in her life, Eleanor Roosevelt was popular.
But just as she was sinking her teeth into this fresh feeling, her grandmother beckoned her home for a dreaded tradition.
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10. She Hated Her Debutante Ball
Like any wealthy socialite, Eleanor had to face her debutante ball, but she did so with apprehension. Having been away from New York society for so long, she felt like an outsider all over again. Later, in reminiscing on that stressful day, she described it as "simply awful." Little did she know, this was both the end of her troubled childhood and the beginning of her romantic life—one that would go down in history.
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11. She Fell For Her Cousin
In 1902, the very same year of that disastrous debut, Eleanor met her future husband: Franklin Delano Roosevelt . But he wasn't exactly a stranger: Franklin just happened to be her fifth cousin. After running into one another on a train ride to Tivoli, they embarked on a secret romance, keeping their correspondence as hush-hush as possible—and probably for good reason.
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12. She Made An Enemy
When Franklin's mother Sara learned about her son's love for Eleanor the following year, she was not  enthused. In fact, she opposed the union so much, she tried everything in her power to squash the romance for good. When he announced that he'd chosen Eleanor as his future bride, she made him promise to keep the engagement hidden for at least a year. But her overbearing antics didn't end there.
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13. Her Fiancé Wouldn't Budge
While waiting for her wedding day to arrive, Eleanor deked Sara's sabotage at every turn. Even when Franklin insisted that his choice was unshakable, his mother persisted. In 1904, she whisked him away on a Caribbean cruise, praying against all odds that the distance might put an end to the romance. Thankfully, he proved her wrong.
The happy couple managed to defy Sara's wishes for the time being—but sadly, Eleanor's nightmare had only just begun.
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14. She Made The Front-Page News
Eleanor Roosevelt's wedding was a magnificent occasion. After all, her uncle Theodore—the American president, no less—walked her down the aisle in the place of her late father. He even gave the couple his stamp of approval, saying, "It is a good thing to keep the name in the family." The nuptials made the front page of The New York Times,  and by all accounts, Eleanor seemed like the perfect blushing bride.
But after the dust settled, and she and Franklin returned from the honeymoon, her controlling mother-in-law reared her head once again.
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15. She Couldn't Escape Her
Eleanor's tumultuous relationship…

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