Hidden Affair: FDR and Lucy Mercer

FDR maintained a long-term secret relationship with Lucy Mercer while married to Eleanor

Roosevelt. The affair began before he became president and continued, quietly and carefully

hidden, for decades. It was concealed not only from the public,

but from political rivals who feared scandal could destabilize his leadership during crises like the

Great Depression and World War II. Lucy Mercer was kept out of public view,

protected by aides and security arrangements designed to preserve Roosevelt’s image. On April 12,

1945 the day FDR died Lucy was at his side, her presence deliberately withheld from official

accounts. The truth emerged later, revealing how even the most carefully