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The adorable love stories of 11 presidents and their first ladies

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Barack and Michelle Obama

  • Some US presidents and first ladies can boast of pretty swoon-worthy love stories.
  • Grace and Calvin Coolidge met after she spied him shaving through a window; Theodore and Edith Roosevelt were childhood friends whose relationship blossomed into something more.
  • Here's a look at some of the most romantic presidential love stories.

Marriage is one thing that all of the US presidents throughout history have in common — with the exception of lifelong bachelor James Buchanan

Not all of those relationships were equally rock steady, though.

Some first ladies, like John Quincy Adams's wife Louisa, felt deeply uncomfortable in the realm of politics.

Meanwhile, a number of presidents, like James Garfield, Warren Harding, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton, were known for their philandering.

And a few presidential pairs, like Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, functioned more like work colleagues than spouses.

Still, the book "First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women," serves up plenty of heartwarming anecdotes. Many of the most famous and powerful people in American history could be quite romantic, as it turns out.

Here's a look inside some of the most touching love stories between US presidents and their first ladies:

SEE ALSO: A congressman just called Mike Pence 'the greatest VP' since John Adams — here's why that's not really a compliment

DON'T MISS: Inside the marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama, who met at work and kissed outside an ice cream store on their first date

SEE ALSO: A look at the zodiac signs of all the US presidents

John Adams relied on his wife Abigail.

Abigail Adams famously asked her husband John to "remember the ladies" as he helped to found the fledgling United States.

As a founding father and as president, Adams didn't do much to adhere to her request on a macro-level. But he certainly relied on Abigail for support and advice throughout his career.



John and Abigail wrote to one another constantly when they were separated.

John and Abigail Adams were partners, through and through. Even when work and war separated the couple, they sought to stay in contact.

In "First Ladies," historian James Taylor estimated that the pair wrote around 1,170 letters to one another, penning messages around once or twice a week.

"They were partners in everything he did. ... he writes to her thanking her for being a partner in the activities," he said.



The two also had unique pet names for one another.

The pair's trove of letters reflects their habit of teasing one another, and an affectionate side to their marriage. Business Insider previously reported that Adams referred to his wife as "Miss Adorable" and "Diana," after the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon.

Abigail called him Lysander — referencing the Spartan War hero — and "my dearest friend."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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