**Ted Kennedy Refused to Let Troubled Wife Joan Join Alcoholics Anonymous to Protect His Political Career**
*Published Oct. 8, 2025, 4:30 p.m. ET*
RadarOnline.com can reveal that the late Senator Ted Kennedy refused to let his troubled wife, Joan Bennett Kennedy, join Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) out of fear over how it would reflect on him and his political career. Joan, who passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, October 8, at the age of 89, struggled with alcoholism exacerbated by the difficulties in her marriage.
Forced to endure her philandering husband Ted Kennedy’s relentless affairs and abuse, Joan’s drinking spiraled out of control. However, the Massachusetts senator forbade her from attending A.A. meetings, fearing that her story would damage his political reputation.
Joan’s alcoholism was a closely guarded secret within the Kennedy family — and Ted made sure it stayed that way.
“Almost everyone in the political community thought Ted had the perfect political wife, the envy of the capital,” recalled author Laurence Leamer, who wrote the explosive book *The Kennedy Women*. “But the Kennedys were desperately worried that Joan’s condition would become public knowledge.”
Leamer added that Joan begged to go to A.A., but Ted wouldn’t allow it. “The Senator — which is how Joan refers to him — wouldn’t let his wife get help, though she was in desperate need and pleaded for it, because he wouldn’t let anyone know she was an alcoholic,” he said. “The family was used to putting up a wall, constructing a sham, living a lie. It’s what they always did.”
### Joan Gives In to Her Addiction
Instead of allowing Joan to get help from A.A., Ted found a priest who was also a psychiatrist to treat her. This arrangement ensured confidentiality, as they could be doubly sure he wouldn’t disclose anything.
“I talked to him and all I do is wait until he left and go into my closet and get a bottle of vodka,” Joan once said about her treatment.
She admitted that her drinking worsened after Ted’s infamous accident at Chappaquiddick in 1969. “I just didn’t care anymore,” she said. “I just saw no future. That’s when I truly became an alcoholic.”
### Ted’s Fatal Car Crash Scandal
In July 1969, Ted Kennedy was involved in a fatal car accident when he drove his vehicle off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island into Poucha Pond after leaving a party with passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Ted claimed he was dropping her off at the ferry.
While Ted managed to free himself and swim to safety, Kopechne was trapped in the car and tragically died. The prominent lawmaker insisted he attempted to rescue her.
Despite the damaging optics of the incident, Joan—who was pregnant after suffering two miscarriages—stood by her husband’s side when they attended Kopechne’s funeral and again three days later when Ted pled guilty to fleeing the scene of an accident.
### Drinking to ‘Numb the Pain’
In 1978, Joan confessed that she began drinking heavily to numb the pain of public scandals. She shared, “At times I drank to feel less inhibited, to relax at parties. Other times I drank to block out unhappiness, to drown my sorrows.”
Joan participated in a twelve-step program but candidly admitted, “Staying sober is difficult.” Her battle with sobriety was a rollercoaster. Over the years, she was arrested four times for driving under the influence—the first in 1974 and the last in 2000.
Following her final DUI arrest, Joan appointed a guardian and retreated from public life.
### Separation and Divorce
After years of scandal and heartbreak, Joan and Ted separated in 1978. However, they did not officially divorce until 1982.
Joan Bennett Kennedy’s life was marked by personal struggle amid the backdrop of a powerful political dynasty, revealing the painful challenges she faced behind the scenes.
https://radaronline.com/p/camelot-secret-joan-bennett-kennedy-grave-ted/