Secrets & Scandals Of America’s First Ladies

Dolley Madison

Like some other First Ladies on this list, Dolley Madison was also previously married before meeting former president James Madison. But after losing her first husband and second child to a wave of yellow fever, she was left widowed with only one of her children. After marrying James Madison in 1794, she was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying outside her faith, as Madison was not a Quaker. Later in life, Dolley’s son would have a terrible spending habit, was self-indulgent, and unproductive, forcing James Madison to pay her son’s debts, even though Dolley and James didn’t have a lot of money themselves.