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When Jackie Kennedy found out that her husband, Aristotle Onassis, was having an affair with Maria Callas, she did what she did best: look the other way.
The claim was made by Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, Onassis’s long-time personal secretary. His memories, “The Onassis Women” dives deep into the love triangle.
Callas, a superstar soprano who died in 1977, is the subject of a new biopic starring Angelina Jolie.
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Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas. (Netflix)
“Onassis never stopped seeing Maria,” Moutsatsos, 75, told Fox News Digital. “A week after they got married, I visited her many times. I would say three or four times a week. Jackie was very smart and quickly realized what was going on.”
The former first lady spoke to her husband’s sister, Artemis Onassis, about the shipping magnate’s not-so-secret relationship with the singer.
“I pretended I hadn’t heard anything,” Moutsatsos recalls. “But Artemisa told him, ‘Don’t pay attention because here in Greece that’s what usually happens.’ Onassis was in love with Jackie, but he was also used to knowing and being with Maria.”
When Jackie Kennedy found out about her husband Aristotle Onassis’ affair with Maria Callas, she supposedly followed her sister’s advice and ignored it. (Getty Images)
“Jackie took Artemis’ advice,” he shared. “Onassis and Maria were twin (flames). They couldn’t be separated.”
According Biography.comCallas and Onassis met at a party in 1957. It quickly turned into a long romance. The relationship was tumultuous and Onassis eventually began to notice the widow Kennedy.
Onassis married Kennedy in 1968. According to the outlet, Callas found out about her lover’s plans three weeks before the ceremony.
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Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis leave the chapel on their private island after their wedding in 1968. (Getty Images)
Kennedy believed that Onassis’s money and power could provide protection for his family. Her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, followed by her brother-in-law, Robert Kennedy, in 1968.
Moutsatsos said he initially wondered why Kennedy decided to turn a blind eye to Onassis’s infidelity. But then she realized this was nothing new for the mother of two.
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“Jackie was used to this with her previous husband, the president,” Moutsatsos said. “But she also needed to have a strong man by her side. Onassis was the perfect man. He could provide security not only for her but also for her children. And Onassis adored her children, John Jr. and Caroline.”
“He was pretending he hadn’t heard anything. But Artemisa told him, ‘Don’t pay attention, because here in Greece that’s what usually happens.’ Onassis was in love with Jackie, but he was also used to knowing and being with Maria.”
Jackie Kennedy believed that Aristotle Onassis could provide security and protection for her family. (Central Press/Getty Images)
“I remember on (his private island) Skorpios, he would bring them all kinds of animals and toys to make them feel happy,” she shared. “And of course, Jackie could have whatever she wanted too. I was used to giving her lots of surprises.
“I remember she would ask me to call a famous jeweler to bring her the best, most expensive things. We would look at those jewels for hours, trying to find only the best ones for her.”
“You don’t think a woman likes that? I’d say so,” he chuckled.
Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos’ memoir, “The Onassis Women: An Eyewitness Account,” was published in 1998. She is currently in talks with producers to turn it into a film. (Putnam Group of Pubs)
Although the women never met, Callas harbored ill feelings toward Onassis’ girlfriend. Moutsatsos claimed that Callas and Onassis often quarreled over Kennedy.
“Maria was jealous,” Moutsatsos said. “I wanted to be with Onassis and have him by her side always, but it was not possible. They were too similar… But Maria was also 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 never liked this relationship with Jackie,” Moutsatsos shared. “Every time I was sitting on the boat (the Christina, Onassis’ yacht), I would read the newspapers and see the photos of Onassis with Maria. After that, there was a war on the boat.”
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Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis often quarreled over his wife Jackie Kennedy. (ullstein bild/ullstein bild 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,” he said. “She came down the stairs of the house. She was like a queen, a princess. But her behavior was like that of a little girl. She was very polite and soft-spoken. I remember she was very happy because we started speaking in French. because Onassis’ sister also spoke French. Jackie spoke French, so we started talking.”
“Jackie was shy all the time,” he shared. “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: his daughter-in-law, Christina Onassis.
“Christina and (her brother) Alexander didn’t like me at all,” Moutsatsos said. “Jackie would try to approach them, but they would avoid meeting her and talking to her.
“The day Jackie and Onassis got married, it was raining all day,” Moutsatsos said. “Here in Greece we believe that if someone gets married and it’s raining, it’s good luck. But it wasn’t good luck.”
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Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) with María Callas (1923-1977). Onassis’s long-time 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 love. Moutsatsos said the couple was together until he died in 1975.
“Maria was desperate when Onassis died,” he explained. “I remember he called me almost every day because he wanted to know how to handle the whole situation. He didn’t want to see Jackie, he didn’t want to see (Onassis’) kids. They didn’t like any of it. Being next to their father wasn’t personal. It just wasn’t personal. They always believed that one day their father would be with their mother again.
Aristotle Onassis refused to give up his lifelong love, his secretary said. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“I helped her get to Skorpios without anyone knowing,” Moutsatsos said. “She didn’t want to live anymore. She thought her life was worthless 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 María Callas died of a broken heart. (ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
When Onassis died, Callas had already retired from public life. Callas was 53 years old when she suffered a fatal heart attack. Moutsatsos insists the star died of a broken heart.
“There were reports that Maria used drugs, but that is not true,” he said. “What is certain is that she was heartbroken.”
Moutsatsos stayed in touch with Kennedy, who was living in New York City with her two children after Onassis’ death. He died there in 1994 at age 64.
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Jackie Kennedy died in 1994. She was 64 years old. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Today, Moutsatsos seeks to republish his memoirs. He is also in talks with producers to turn the book into a film. His goal, he said, is to set the record straight.
“This was my family,” he said. “And I just want people to know the truth.”
