New JFK book reportedly reveals Ex-President's illegitimate affair with flight attendant Joan Lundberg

American journalist and celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborelli gave People an exclusive peek into his upcoming book JFK: Public, Private, Secret, which is set to be released on July 15, 2025. JFK: Public, Private, Secret, which is a follow-up to his 2023 book Jackie: Public, Private, Secret, reveals and explores the former President, JFK's, illegitimate affair with Joan Lundberg, who was a flight attendant and a cocktail waitress.

John F. Kennedy, commonly known as JFK, was America's 35th President. He became the president in 1961 and was assassinated in 1963. JFK, who served as the American president at the peak of the Cold War, was married to Jackie Kennedy, with whom he shared two sons, Patrick and John, and a daughter, Caroline.

JFK, who belonged to the prominent and affluent Kennedy family, was the youngest person to be elected as president at the age of 43. According to Taraborelli's new book, Joan Lundberg first came across JFK in 1956, when he was already married to Jackie and was a Massachusetts senator.

As per People, Zachary Hitchcock, who is Joan Lundberg's son, referred to his mother as "one of a kind" and said:

"She was unconventional and independent — a voluptuous beauty with a great smile."

J. Randy Taraborelli, who has deep-dived into Joan's story in this new book, which, as mentioned earlier, is a follow-up to his 2023 book, stated that

"With this book, I wanted not to defend JFK but I wanted to explain him."

Taraborelli continued and added:

"Joan was a big revelation for me. She acted as his therapist in many ways. Because she was outside of his Washington circle, he opened up to her — and began to reckon with his flaws."

An exclusive excerpt from Taraborelli's upcoming book reveals the never-before-heard tale of JFK's mistress from her very own private diaries and unpublished memoir. Check out the exclusive excerpts from JFK: Public, Private, Secret below:

"On August 19, 1956, the senator from Massachusetts met Joan Lundberg, 23, standing in front of the jukebox at The Sip and Surf, a dive bar in Santa Monica, Calif. “What are you gonna play?” he asked her. “I was thinking Elvis Presley, but what would you like to hear?” she asked. He said he wanted to hear something “so I can concentrate on you.” Corny, but not bad."

At the time, Joan Lundberg was a single mother with two kids. She worked for Frontier Airlines as a flight attendant and was also a cocktail waitress.

"When Jack asked where she lived, she told him it was in a “trailer court close by,” not hesitating. “What the hell’s a trailer court?” he asked. She laughed and answered, “You don’t want to know."

JFK returned to Los Angeles again in September to meet Joan and took her to a dinner party.

"Joan later remembered feeling insecure and out of her element, though she certainly looked stylish in an outfit from Jax in Beverly Hills, a boutique favored by Marilyn Monroe. She would later write: “He lit up the room. People came over just to be near him, his energy magnetic. I thought, well of course, that’s the politician in him. But I soon realized that, no, that’s just who he is."

"At about midnight, Jack drove Joan up Pacific Coast Highway to a nondescript 1930s motor court called the Sunset Motel. They checked in as “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Thompson.” The s*x that night was “wild,” claimed Joan. The next morning over breakfast, he unburdened himself. His fears, his insecurities. It was as if she was so removed from his circle, he could share anything. According to what Joan later recalled, Jack admitted that he and Jackie were the product of “an arranged marriage” and, as such marriages go, he said it was “fine. Not great, but okay".

At this point, Jackie found out about Jack's (JFK's nickname) affair with Joan.

"Jack Kennedy had no sooner walked into the foyer of Hammersmith Farm upon his return to Newport when Jackie hit him with a question: “Who’s Trailer Park Joan?” As he collected his thoughts, she clarified things: “The divorcée! Your sister told me all about her!” He explained that Joan was someone he’d met in Los Angeles. Joan is vague in her unpublished memoir about how much Jack told Jackie, only that he told her pretty much everything."

Instead of splitting from JFK, Jackie agreed to an offer and stayed in the marriage.

"By 1957 JFK was being talked about as a presidential contender. In private he continued his affair with Joan, flying her to meet him on different airlines and covering her expenses."

"One night in May [1957] Jack and Joan were sharing a cigarette in bed when he suddenly asked her, “Tell me the truth, Joan. Do you think Jackie is screwing other guys?” He explained that Jackie was “so great,” he couldn’t imagine her not having someone else in her life. At the beginning of the year, he said, they’d started having sex now and again, but “there’s too much left unspoken between us.” Recently after having sex, she’d asked him, “What you do with me in bed, is that what she likes?” obviously meaning Joan. He could see the “damage in her eyes,” he said, “and it killed me."

Joan informed JFK that she was pregnant. It was June 25.

"Joan would recall that her news about the baby was “like a knife to Jack’s heart.” While it was a shock, Joan wrote that they shouldn’t have been so surprised: “I didn’t like wearing a diaphragm, and Jack wouldn’t wear a rubber,” she wrote. Jack couldn’t help but wonder if Joan had purposely planned the pregnancy given that she’d seen his devotion to Jackie after Caroline’s birth. He also wondered if he was really the father, and Joan assured him he was. When he asked her how she felt about the pregnancy, she said she loved the two children she was raising on her own and knew she’d also love any child she and Jack brought into the world. He didn’t know how to respond."

JFK and Joan had an intense conversation over a phone call.

"Sounding edgy and not like himself, he told her he’d decided she couldn’t have the baby. Joan tried to argue, but she didn’t know how. Jack said that he’d mail her $400."

"He told her, “You’ll know what to do, Joan. Please,” he said, his tone desperate. “Being a politician is who I am,” he told her. “Politics is all I know. If you take that away . . .” His voice trailed off. Before she could respond, he disconnected the line."

"It ended not in person but on the phone. When Jack called Joan to check on her, she told him, “I’m going to need to put some distance between us.” He understood. “I owe you so much,” he told her. “One thing I want to say to you, Kennedy,” she told him. “You love Caroline, and I know that, but I’m somebody’s daughter, too. Remember that the next time you treat a woman the way you’ve treated me.”

At the time, JFK's affair with Joan did not become public. The news of JFK's assassination in 1963 came as a huge shock to Joan. She was devastated.

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