History’s Most Famous Mistresses

Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson

President Thomas Jefferson owned many slaves, including Sarah "Sally" Hemings. Sally's father was a widowed planter named John Wayles, and her mother was a mixed-race woman named Betty Hemings, who was Wayles' slave. Sally had six brothers and sisters, all of whom were the half-siblings of Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha. Sally, who was three-quarters European, moved to Monticello when she was an infant after Martha Jefferson inherited her father's slaves. It's believed that Sally's six children were fathered by Thomas Jefferson. They were all born after his wife died. Four of Sally's children lived to be adults, and Jefferson eventually freed them.

Lucy Mercer Rutherford & Franklin Roosevelt

Lucy Mercer was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt to be her social secretary in 1914. She reportedly began her affair with Franklin Roosevelt in 1916. Eleanor found out about the affair in 1918 when she came upon letters they wrote to one another. Eleanor suggested a divorce, but it was better politically for Franklin to stay married. Mercer later married a widower, but she kept hooking up with Franklin on and off over the next 30 years. She was also present at his death in Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1945. The public was not aware of the affair until 1966 when Jonathan W. Daniels wrote The Time Between The Wars.

Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall & Prince Charles

While Prince Charles was married to Princess Diana, he carried on an on-again-off-again affair with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who was also married. In 1993, secret conversations between the pair were leaked to the public, and she was vilified by many who disapproved of their relationship. She and her husband had two children but divorced in 1995. After Diana died in a car accident, Camilla and Charles eventually tied the knot in 2005. They slowly received public approval for their relationship. Today, Camilla is known for her philanthropic efforts and also helps the Prince of Wales with his official duties.

The next mistress shows what happens when love turns violent.

Amy Fisher & Joey Buttafuoco

Neither Amy Fisher nor Joey Buttafuoco were famous, but their affair made headlines in both tabloids and respectable papers around the United States. Amy was a 16-year-old high school student when she started an affair with the 35-year-old Long Island auto mechanic in 1991. Amy fell in love and before long became very jealous of his wife, Mary Jo. At the age of 17, she confronted Mary Jo at the doorstep of her home and shot her in the face. Mary Jo survived, but Amy was sentenced to seven years in prison for assault. She was also labeled the Long Island Lolita by the press.

Rachel Uchitel & Tiger Woods

Television personality and nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel first made headlines following the September 11 terrorist attacks when a picture of her holding a photo of her fiance, who worked in one of the towers of the World Trade Center, went viral. Uchitel married a Wall Street trader in 2004 but split after just a few months together. Fast forward to 2010, she made headlines again for her affair with pro golfer Tiger Woods. The scandal launched an investigation into Woods' private life, revealing he slept with many women outside his marriage. Uchitel then appeared on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew the same year.

Rielle Hunter & John Edwards

Actress and film producer Rielle Hunter became a household name after it was revealed she had an affair and a child with politician John Edwards. Hunter got pregnant in May 2007, prior to Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign. When her daughter was born, she didn't list the father's name on the birth certificate. Edwards later admitted to the affair but denied the child was his. He didn't recognize his daughter publicly until 2010. In 2012, Hunter published the book, What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me. During an interview with Steve Harvey, Hunter admitted that their relationship lasted until 2015.

Ashley Dupre & Eliot Spitzer

Call girl and aspiring musician Ashley Dupré connected with New York governor Eliot Spitzer through an escort service in 2008. A conversation she had with the booking company about a hookup with Spitzer was recorded by the FBI, and then the news broke that the politician was involved in a prostitution scandal. Ashley became famous overnight for her liaisons with the governor. She was regarded as one of the world's most famous hookers. She also appeared in footage filmed by Joe Francis' company Girls Gone Wild and posed for Playboy in 2010. Spitzer resigned from office in 2008.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy & Mick Jagger

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is currently the wife of Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. But before they got together, she had a torrid affair with British rocker Mick Jagger. She was just 23 years old when she started dating the Rolling Stones singer, who swept her off her feet while she was hanging out with Eric Clapton. Jagger was married to Jerry Hall during their affair, which eventually ended. Carla later said of the breakup: "I thought I’d never get over it. I used to wake up every morning in despair. I thought I’d never fall in love with someone else.'"

Mildred Baena & Arnold Schwarzenegger

In 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger's 25-year marriage to Maria Shriver was ending because of a long-time affair he had with their housekeeper, Mildred Patricia "Patty" Baena. In fact, he secretly had a child with Patty 14 years earlier and his wife only just learned about the affair. Patty worked for the couple for 20 years. She got pregnant while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of her and Arnold's four children. Arnold realized Patty's son was his when he was about seven or eight and started to look like him. Arnold bought the pair a home in 2010.

The next tatted mistress made headlines in 2010.

Michelle "Bombshell" McGee & Jesse James

A busty, tattooed model named Michelle "Bombshell" McGee had an affair with bike builder Jesse James while he was married to actress Sandra Bullock. She later claimed she would never have had a relationship with Jesse had she known he was married. She said he led her to believe that he was separated. Bullock found out about the affair just weeks after her husband accompanied her to the Academy Awards, where she won an Oscar for The Blind Side. McGee worked as a stripper and was a fetish model who made money by appearing on live webcam videos.

Marion Davies & William Randolph Hearst

Marion Davies was an actress, producer, and screenwriter who had already made her mark in Hollywood when she started dating newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. He became her manager, and Marion appeared in a string of films under his Cosmopolitan Pictures. Hearst marketed her heavily in his newspaper and newsreels, and his influence resulted in her starring in many features for which she wasn't suited. They were together for decades, but Hearst's wife refused to divorce him. Marion married Horace Brown less than three months after Hearst's death. Although it was a bad marriage, they never divorced and the starlet eventually passed away from cancer in 1961.

Virginia Hill & Bugsy Siegel

Virginia Hill was famous for being the girlfriend of mobster Bugsy Siegel, who married childhood sweetheart Esta Krakower in 1929. Virginia grew up with an abusive alcoholic father and started hanging out with the gangster in the 1940s when they started their affair. He reportedly named the Flamingo Las Vegas resort after Virginia's long legs. After their affair ended, she dated numerous other mobsters, including Joey Adonis. She married Austrian skier Hans Hauser in 1951. She moved to Austria with her only son and overdosed on sleeping pills in 1966 at the age of 49. Many questioned whether it was suicide or murder.

Kay Summersby & Dwight Eisenhower

Kay Summersby spent a lot of time with Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II. She was part of the British Mechanised Transport Corps and drove Eisenhower around in a jeep. She later served as his secretary while he acted as commander of the European Front. It's unclear whether the pair had a sexual relationship, but it was rumored that they were more than friends, although many people, including biographers, have dismissed the gossip. Eisenhower helped Summersby become a U.S. citizen as well as a commissioned officer in the US Women's Army Corps. She moved to the United States in 1947 and had a short-lived marriage before she passed away in 1975.

There was a 34-year age difference between this next mistress and former General.

Elizabeth Cooper & Douglas MacArthur

Filipina actress Elizabeth Cooper met General Douglas MacArthur when she was just 16 years old. At the time, MacArthur, 50, was commander of all U.S. troops in the Philippines, and he recently split with his wife. MacArthur hid the relationship from his mother, who was 80. He brought her to Washington but put her on a separate ship to avoid scandal. At one point, MacArthur gave her $15,000 to return to the Philippines because he feared the affair would become public. Cooper stayed in the United States but eventually moved to Los Angeles. She struggled to find acting jobs and committed suicide in 1960.

Nan Britton & Warren G. Harding

Nanna Popham Britton was a secretary who had an affair with President Warren G. Harding, who was a friend of her father's. She was infatuated with Harding when she was a young girl, and at 15 years old would stalk him at the Marion Daily Star building where he worked. One year before Harding was elected president, Britton claimed that her daughter, Elizabeth, was Harding's child. Many people questioned her claim, but it was proven in 2015 through DNA testing. In her 1927 memoir, she claimed to have had sex with Harding in a coat closet at the White House.

Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII

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Anne Boleyn began flirting with Henry VIII while he was married to Queen Catherine of Aragon. For years, the King attempted to seduce Boleyn, but she struck him down. She refused to have a relationship with him until he annulled his marriage. When the pope dragged his feet on the annulment, the King created the Anglican Church of England, and his marriage was annulled, making it possible for Anne to become Queen. They secretly wed in 1532 and had an official wedding in 1533. Boleyn was accused (wrongly) of having affairs with multiple men, including her brother. She was executed in 1536.

Jessica Hahn & Jim Bakker

In the 1980's Jeff Bakker along with his wife, Tammy Bakker were well-known televangelists with a consistent and loyal following along with a million dollar media empire with the (PTL) The Praise the Lord or People That Love Club. However, in 1987, Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary, announced that she had had a sexual encounter with Bakk and had been paid off for years in order to keep quiet. So, Bakker was then forced to reside from the PTL, his wife eventually divorced him, and Hahn made a career out of it all, appearing in Playboy and Hollywood films.

LeAnn Rimes & Eddie Cibrian

In 2001, American actor Eddie Cibrian married former model and reality television star Brandi Glanville and together they have two sons named Mason and Jake. However, after eight years of marriage, in 2009, they separated when it was discovered that Eddie had an affair with country music star LeAnn Rimes. Then, in 2010 Eddie went on to get engaged to LeAnn and after they had appeared in the 2009 movie Nora Roberts Northern Lights when it is assumed that the affair took place. Quite a scandal if you ask us, and their marriage in 2011 was the cherry on top.

María Belén Chapur & Mark Sanford

Between June 18 until June 24, 2009, the former South Carolina Governor went missing after saying that he was taking a trip to hike the Appalachian Mountains. He was not heard from that entire time and was eventually intercepted by a reporter arriving at Hatfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on a flight from Argentina. it was then discovered that he was committing adultery with a 43-year-old divorced woman named María Belén Chapur, that lived in Buenos Aires. The two had met in 2001 and had been in contact since. The scandal eventually led to his him being censured in his position of the governor but did not end his political career. He is now the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district

Odette de Champdivers & King Charles VI

At the age of 17, Champdivers found herself as the mistress for the mad king of France Charles VI. At the time, they called King Charles mad because he had what would be known as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder today. Doctors believed that one way to cure him would be to conceive a child. However, Charles' wife Isabella was afraid for her life so she had Champdivers step in for her. Yet, she ended up falling in love with him and earned the nickname "Little Queen" and they had a daughter together and were both provided by his will after his death. She has been featured in many historical paintings.

Kristen Stewart & Rupert Sanders

In 2012, famous director Rupert Sanders was caught on cameras in very questionable and compromising positions with Twilight actress Kristen Stewart. The two had met on the set of Snow White and The Huntsman while Sanders was married and Stewart was in a relationship at the time with her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson. Sanders went on to note that the affair with her was a "momentary lapse" and even went on to say that, "If you took people off of the table for a momentary lapse, there would be no one making art". His wife Liberty Ross soon after divorced him in 2013.

Traci Lynn Johnson & Tiki Barber

The American public was shocked when it was announced that ex-NFL player Tiki Barber had left his wife of 11 years who was also eight months pregnant for a 23-year-old attractive girl named Traci Lynn Johnson. The two had met in 2007 after he had retired from professional football and started working as a Today Show correspondent at NBC. Traci went with barber to Senegal in 2009 and she might have accompanied him to Vancouver for a few months when Barber was blogging about the Winter Olympics for Yahoo.com. Safe to say, Barber, recevied some seriously harsh criticism for this move, yet the two are still together today.

Vanessa Lopez & Shaquille O' Neal

In 2010, NBA legend Shaquille O' Neal found himself in the middle of a controversy when young and attractive Vanessa Lopez filed a lawsuit against him alleging harassment and threats after she called quits to their affair. However, she went on to mention that she knew he was married and dated him because he said he had an "open" relationship with his wife. The two saw each other for five years, where there was a pregnancy scandal which led to everything falling apart. Despite his wife Shaunie divorcing him, she teamed up with Vanessa to try and get as much money out of him as possible. Harsh.

Britney Spears & Kevin Federline

From the years 2004 to 2006, Britney Spears was in an affair with her male backup dancer Kevin Federline, coming between his girlfriend Shar Jackson who was also currently expecting Federline's second child during the drama both during and after the affair was revealed. Jackson went on to admit that his relationship with Spears at the time "wasn't just like breaking up a relationship, but it was like breaking up a family". Although Spears and Federline got together once the storm had passed their relationship didn't last long either, they still managed to have two children together.

Deanna Merryman & Jeff Gordon

Buckle your seatbelts, because this one's a little crazy. From April 2001 until March 2002, Jeff Gordon was having an affair with the blonde model Deana Merrymen. However, her affair with the married man was going smoothly up until she found out he was having a third affair with yet another supermodel. So, she ended their glorious 11-month affair when she realized she was getting played herself. Then, Gordon wasn't too happy to lose everything when his wife found out about both affairs in a tabloid and divorced him, receiving a pleasant settlement of $15 million.

Kimberly Bell & Barry Bonds

Kimberly Bell was supposedly Bonds Lover for nine years also turned out to be a key witness in Bonds' steroid trial as well. The two began seeing each other in 1994 while Bonds' was in the processes of divorcing his wife and continued to see each other after he re-married in 1999. She went on to testify that she underwent abuse from him and began using steroids which made him increasingly "increasingly aggressive, irritable, agitated, and very impatient". In the end, during their relationship, he bought her a house yet stopped making payments.

Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony

J. Lo and Marc Anthony married on June 5, 2004. While all seemed well and good in the couple's world, people couldn't help but point out that Anthony had finalized his divorce just a week prior.

The salsa artist had previously married former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres in 2000, but their union was short-lived as Torres filed for divorce in October 2003. Although it has never been confirmed if Anthony did, in fact, cheat on Torres with Jenny from the block, many fans have drawn their own conclusions about the pair's speedy divorce and Anthony's subsequent marriage to Lopez.

Devon James & Tiger Woods

This list wouldn't be complete without a few of Tiger Wood's mistresses. Pornstar and escort Devon James was the shamed golf pro's fifteenth mistress. James aired all of her and Wood's dirty laundry during a live radio interview with Bubba the Love Sponge, saying the athlete was "rough" as well as "degrading and raunchy."

She would later go on to claim that Woods had fathered her love child and that she was releasing a sex tape of herself and Woods, although both of these claims later turned out to be false. Most recently, the adult film star has opened up about being arrested for prostitution and having a drug problem.

Carolyn Hughes & Derek Lowe

Carolyn Hughes was an anchor for Fox Sports Net West—keyword: was. Hughes began a secret relationship with Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe in 2005, which was already a no-no. To make matters worse, both Hughes and Lowe were married.

Lowe's wife, Trinka, found out about the affair and was quick to contact the Fox Sports network and oust the pair. It wasn't long before Hughes was fired and retired from broadcasting completely. She also retired from her first marriage. She and Lowe have been together since and wed in 2008. Romantic, huh?

Alexis Miller & Shaquille O' Neal

Shaquille O' Neal is no stranger to allegations of extramarital affairs. The basketball legend already made our list once for his affair with Vanessa Lopez in 2010. But before Lopez, there was Alexis Miller. Miller is an Atlanta-based rapper who goes by the stage name, MaryJane. She took out a restraining order again O'Neal in August 2008 after she alleged that he stalked her and threatened her after the pair split. She also claimed that he went as far to pay other hip-hop artists $50,000 each not to work with her. The two eventually settled their differences and the restraining order was lifted.

Barbara Walters & Edward Brooke

Barbara Walters is one of the most famous journalists today. But while she is typically the one reporting the top stories from around the world, it was her who made headlines in 2008. It was this year that Walters released her book, Auditions. Not only did Auditions detail her fascinating career and personal life, but she dropped a huge bombshell—that she had an interracial affair with Massachusetts Senator Edward Brook in the '70s.

People were shocked since Walters has never seemed like the type to have an affair. Although Brooke came clean to his wife back in 1975, everyone kept it a secret so it wouldn't derail anyone's career.

Alina Kabaeva & Vladimir Putin

For years, rumors have circulated about Alina Kabaeva and Vladimir Putin. The Olympian gymnast was born in 1983 (which is ironically the same year the Russian Prime Minister married his wife Lyudmila) and soon became an international star for her incredible gymnastic abilities. She met Putin in 2008 and the two have been linked since. Some even believe that the pair is already married and have children together. It doesn't help that Kabaeva is largely considered one of Russia's most eligible bachelorettes yet has never been rumored to be dating anyone over the last decade. Oh, and she showed up to an event wearing a wedding ring following Putin's divorce in 2014.

Blaze Starr & Earl Long

To say Blaze Star was a controversial woman during the '50s would be an understatement. Star was not only a stripper but soon became known as a mistress when she was involved in an extramarital affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Long.

Star was a professional exotic dancer with fiery red hair and an hourglass figure. She appeared on numerous magazine covers and made up to $1,500 a week at the height of her career. Not surprisingly she had many admirers, including Long. The two soon developed a strong personal relationship but it eventually ended. Before Star passed away in 2015, she also claimed she had slept with John F. Kennedy before he won the presidency.

Capri Anderson & Charlie Sheen

Well, this is an interesting one. On October 26, 2010, pornstar Capri Anderson embarked on a date with Charlie Sheen when things turned disastrous. Ander was paid $3,500 to go to dinner with the scandalous actor, who proceeded to drink excessively and partake in other "party favors" until he was blacked out. But although Sheen may have been borderline comatose, it didn't stop him from spewing racial slurs, getting naked in the restaurant bathroom, and, at one point, choking Anderson.

Anderson filed a lawsuit against Sheen, who ended up in the hospital that night. And although the actor didn't stay sober long enough to actually cheat, he was still married to his third wife Brooke Mueller at the time.

Jasmine Waltz & David Arquette

David Arquette was famously married to Friends star Courteney Cox for 14 years before the two split in 2013. But before their marriage officially ended, the ex-lovers went through a pretty public and nasty divorce. Things got especially interesting when Arquette phoned into the Howard Stern radio show one morning in 2010 and admitted that he had slept with Jasmine Waltz. Waltz, was an aspiring actress and waiter, 11 years younger than Arquette. Although Arquette said 'I did have sex with her one time, maybe twice... my sexual encounter made me pretty feel manly,' he maintained that he never cheated on his wife. Something doesn't add up here.

Ashton Kutcher & Brittney Jones

In August 2010, Brittney Jones made headlines when an image of an unidentified woman on Ashton Kutcher's couch began to circulate. It was clear the woman was very young and not his then-wife Demi Moore. It was late reported that Jones had met Kutcher at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood the month before and immediately started exchanging racy text messages with the actor, eventually meeting with him at his Beverly Hills home. Jones claimed she and Ashton slept together and even listed a sweater on eBay that she swore was his. Demi stuck by her man's side through it all.