Marrying one of the most powerful men on the planet comes with its fair share of scrutiny, and Jill Biden knows this all too well. Whether it’s baseless gossip or outright nonsense, she’s been at the center of more than a few so-called controversies — most of which amount to, well, nothing.
Some claim she’s a secret Trump supporter (sure, Jan!). Others insist she’s constantly feuding with Kamala Harris or that her marriage to Joe Biden is more troubled than it seems. Even her fashion choices spark rumors, although, to be fair to Jill, she knows how to take it all in stride. “It’s kind of surprising, I think, how much commentary is made about what I wear or if I put my hair in a scrunchie. I put my hair up! Or the stocking thing,” she told Vogue, clearly amused by the absurdity of it all. “It’s amazing how much people pay attention to every little detail.”
Most of these rumors are so ridiculous they don’t even deserve a second thought. But some? They just refuse to die, making them harder to ignore. Lo and behold, here are just some of the wildest claims about the former first lady that people still won’t shut up about.
There was a pervasive rumor that Jill cheated on her first husband
Infidelity rumors in the White House? Hardly groundbreaking (Bill Clinton, anyone?). But it’s not every day a first lady gets dragged into the drama. Jill Biden happens to be battling one persistent rumor that she allegedly cheated on her first husband, Bill Stevenson, with none other than Joe Biden.
And who keeps fanning the flames? None other than Stevenson himself. He’s been pushing this narrative for years, insisting that Jill and Joe had a thing while he and Jill were still married. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. But facts are facts,” he told Daily Mail and recalled a time when Jill refused to come to a concert with him because she had been asked to look after Joe’s kids. “One of her best friends told me she thought Joe and Jill were getting a little too close.” Then, months later, he discovered that Joe had footed the bill for Jill’s car repairs — his supposed smoking gun. “I asked Jill to leave the house, which she did. Her father was begging me to take her back when he found out what was going on. He asked me to give her a second chance, but I wasn’t interested.”
Jill’s camp, unsurprisingly, calls BS. Her spokesperson told Inside Edition that Stevenson’s claims were nothing more than an attempt to chase some clout. “These claims are fictitious, seemingly to sell and promote a book. The relationship of Joe and Jill Biden is well documented,” they said. “Jill Biden separated from her first husband irreconcilably in the fall of 1974 and moved out of their marital home. Joe and Jill Biden had their first date in March of 1975, and they married in June of 1977.”
She was also rumored to have been forced to marry Joe
Jill Biden might be Joe Biden’s ultimate ride or die now, but she didn’t exactly sprint down the aisle. In fact, it took Joe five proposals to get her to say yes — fueling the bizarre rumor that she was somehow forced into marrying him. Which, if you think about it, makes zero sense, considering they’re still going strong today.
But Jill did have her reasons for holding out. For one, she wasn’t just marrying Joe — she was stepping into the lives of his young sons, Beau and Hunter, who had already lost their mother, Neilia. “By that time, of course, I had fallen in love with the boys, and I really felt that this marriage had to work,” she told Vogue. “Because they had lost their mom, and I couldn’t have them lose another mother. So I had to be 100 percent sure.” Then, there was the overwhelming reality of what life as a senator’s wife would mean. In her 20s at the time, Jill knew she’d be giving up more than just her last name. “I’d have to give up my apartment… I’d have to quit my job for the boys’ sake, to give them the time to acclimate to having someone new in the house every day and not just on weekends. And I’d have to become Jill Biden, senator’s wife. It was all too much,” she wrote in her book.
But after four rejections, Joe had enough. On proposal number five, he cut to the chase. “Look, this is the last time I’m asking you. I don’t care when we get married. But I want a commitment,'” the former president said. And that, finally, was what it took for Jill to say yes.
There are also some spectators who are convinced that Jill Biden and Donald Trump are in love
Rumors are always a little ridiculous, but some really push the limits of absurdity — like the claim that Jill Biden and Donald Trump are secretly in love. Yes, you read that right. And the “evidence”? A single, fleeting interaction at a public event.
During the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, Jill and Trump were photographed chatting for all of two seconds — but that was all it took for the internet’s conspiracy theorists to lose their minds. “Jill just wants to date Trump. This is what it truly has been about all along,” one person said. “Find someone who looks at you like Jill Biden looks at President Trump,” noted another. Predictably, Fox hosts Larry Kudlow and Harris Faulkner jumped on the bandwagon, insisting that the two are flirting. “Take a careful look at that. That wasn’t a nice conversation, that was outright flirtation,” Kudlow said (via The Independent), while Faulkner insisted, “I do believe that at this moment that you do want to gravitate — clearly she gravitates towards power.”
This is all complete nonsense, obviously. Trump actually later used the photo to troll Jill and promote his perfume. And as for what was actually said? Jill later revealed to The Washington Post that Trump was just bragging about his meeting with Joe. “I had a good meeting with your husband in the Oval Office,” Trump apparently told her, to which she responded, “Yes, because you’re both talkers.”
Some assume that Jill is the one controlling Joe’s career
The U.S. has never had a female president, but if you ask some people, Jill Biden might as well be running the show. Conspiracy theorists love to suggest that behind the scenes, it’s Jill calling the shots, with Joe Biden simply doing her bidding — even on major decisions. It doesn’t help that Jill once jokingly admitted that Joe listens to her because they’re an item. “Of course he’ll listen to me, because we’re a married couple,” she quipped to CBS News.
Adding fuel to the fire are Joe’s very public gaffes during his last presidential campaign, which Jill brushed off like they were nothing. But to be fair, when the time came, she backed his decision to step down and even hit the campaign trail for Kamala Harris — despite their rumored beef. We don’t know about you, but those are hardly the moves of someone secretly thirsting for power.
Still, Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf confirmed that out of everyone, Joe listens to Jill the most. “It’s fair to call her Biden’s closest adviser,” he told the BBC. “Family matters to him significantly and that makes Jill Biden’s role even more important.” And well, that makes perfect sense. She’s his wife — of course, he values her input. Being a sounding board doesn’t mean she’s secretly running the country — just that she’s doing what any spouse in a political marriage would. That’s not exactly the “House of Cards” scenario some people seem to be hoping for.
