When Jackie Kennedy learned that her husband, Aristotle Onassis, was having an affair with Maria Callas, she did what she knew best: looked the other way.
The claim was made by Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, Onassis’ personal secretary. Her memoirs, “The Onassis Women,” takes a deep dive into the love triangle.
Callas, a superstar soprano who died in 1977, is the subject of a new biopic starring Angelina Jolie.
JACKIE KENNEDY IMMERSED BY WARREN BEATTY’S POST-FLING BEDROOM SKILLS, BOOK CLAIMS: ‘SELF ABSORBED’
Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas. (Netflix)
“Onassis never stopped seeing Mary,” Moutsatsos, 75, told Fox News Digital. “A week after he got married, he visited her many times. I’d say three or four times a week. Jackie was very smart and she quickly realized what was going on.”
The former first lady turned to her husband’s sister, Artemis Onassis, about the shipping magnate’s not-so-secret relationship with the singer.
“I pretended I didn’t hear anything,” Moutsatsos remembers. “But Artemis said to her, ‘Don’t pay attention, because here in Greece that usually happens.’ Onassis was in love with Jackie, but he was also used to meeting and being together with Maria.”
When Jackie Kennedy learned of her husband Aristotle Onassis’ affair with Maria Callas, she reportedly took his sister’s advice and ignored it. (Getty Images)
“Jackie took Artemis’ advice,” she said. “Onassis and Maria were twins (flames). They could not be separated.”
According to Biography.comCallas and Onassis met at a party in 1957. It quickly became a long-lasting romance. The relationship was tumultuous, and Onassis eventually began keeping tabs on the widow Kennedy.
Onassis married Kennedy in 1968. According to the newspaper, Callas learned of her lover’s plans three weeks before the ceremony.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis leave the chapel on his private island after their wedding in 1968. (Getty Images)
Kennedy believed that Onassis’ money and power could provide her family with protection. Her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was murdered in 1963, followed by her brother-in-law, Robert Kennedy, in 1968.
Moutsatsos said she initially wondered why Kennedy chose to turn a blind eye to Onassis’ infidelity. But then she realized this was nothing new for the mother of two.
WATCH: NEW MARILYN MONROE PHOTOS TAKEN BY A DEAD FRIEND REVEALED IN BOOK
“Jackie was used to this from her previous husband, the president,” says Moutsatsos. ‘But she also needed a strong man next to her. Onassis was the perfect man. He could give her security not only for her, but also for her children. And Onassis adored her children, John Jr. and Caroline.’
‘I pretended I didn’t hear anything. But Artemis told her, “Don’t pay attention, because that usually happens here in Greece.” Onassis was in love with Jackie, but he was also used to meeting and being together with Maria.”
Jackie Kennedy believed that Aristotle Onassis could provide her family with safety and protection. (Central Press/Getty Images)
“I remember on (his private island) Skorpios he would bring all kinds of animals and toys to make them feel happy,” she said. ‘And of course Jackie could get everything she wanted too. He was used to giving her many surprises.
“I remember he asked me to call a famous jeweler here to bring in the best and most expensive things. We looked at these jewels for hours, trying to find only the best for her.”
‘Don’t you think a woman would like that? I would say so,” she chuckled.
Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos’ memoir, “The Onassis Women: An Eyewitness Account”, was published in 1998. She is currently in talks with producers to make it into a film. (Putnam Pub group)
Although the women never met, Callas harbored bad feelings for Onassis’s bride. Moutsatsos claimed that Callas and Onassis would often fight over Kennedy.
“Mary was jealous,” Moutsatsos said. “She wanted to be with Onassis and always have him next to her, but that was not possible. They were too much alike… But Maria also had a very strong character. She was very proud. Jackie was more like a little girl. She was warmer, more feminine.”
Jackie Kennedy’s first husband, President John F. Kennedy, had an affair with Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. (Frank Povolny/Twentieth Century Fox/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Maria has never liked this relationship with Jackie,” Moutsatsos said. “Every time she was on the boat (Christina, Onassis’ yacht), she would read the newspapers and see the pictures of Onassis with Maria. Then there was war on the boat.”
Do you like what you read? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis often argued about his wife Jackie Kennedy. (ullstein image/ullstein image via Getty Images)
Moutsatsos noted that it was easy to see 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 her behavior was like a little girl. She was very polite with a soft voice. I remember she was very happy because we started speaking French speak because Onassis’ sister also spoke French.
“Jackie was shy all the time,” she said. “Every time she called to talk to her husband, she always asked me if Mr. Onassis was available. It was never ‘I want to talk to my husband.'”
Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas and Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis in ‘Maria’. (Netflix)
Kennedy’s marriage to Onassis had other problems involving another woman: her daughter-in-law, Christina Onassis.
“Christina and (her brother) Alexander didn’t like her at all,” Moutsatsos 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,” Moutsatsos said. “Here in Greece we believe that if someone gets married and it rains, it means luck. But it wasn’t luck.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) with Maria Callas (1923-1977). Onassis’ longtime personal secretary Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos described the couple as twin flames who never stopped loving each other. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Onassis never left his former flame. Moutsatsos said the couple was together until his death in 1975.
“Maria was in despair when Onassis died,” she explained. “I remember her calling me almost every day wanting to know how to handle the whole situation. She didn’t want to see Jackie, she didn’t want to see (Onassis’) children. It wasn’t personal for the woman to be next to their father. They always believed that one day their father would see that again with their mother.
Aristotle Onassis refused to give up his old love, his secretary claimed. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“I helped her get to Skorpios without anyone knowing about it,” Moutsatsos 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 was gone. They were born for each other.’
Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos believes that Maria Callas died of a broken heart. (ullstein image/ullstein image via Getty Images)
When Onassis died, Callas had already withdrawn from public life. Callas was 53 when she suffered a fatal heart attack. Moutsatsos is convinced the star died of a broken heart.
“There were reports that Maria was taking drugs – that is not true,” she said. “What is true is that she was heartbroken.”
Moutsatsos kept in touch with Kennedy, who lived in New York City with her two children after Onassis’ death. She died there in 1994 at the age of 64.
MARILYN MONROE’S JFK PHONE BELLS HAUND JACKIE KENNEDY YEARS AFTER STAR’S DEATH, AUTHOR’S CLAIMS
Jackie Kennedy died in 1994. She was 64. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Today Moutsatsos wants to republish her memoirs. She is also in talks with producers to possibly adapt the book into a film. Her goal, she said, is to set the record straight.
“This was my family,” she said. “And I just want people to know the truth.”
