and I'm Sarah Wendell. Welcome to lovestruck daily where we deliver a love story every single day straight to your headphones I'm in love with that I'm in love with you
we are talking about presidential love stories. That's right Hail to the Chief. You may not be at work maybe you're at home with some presidential doughnuts and some presidential coffee in your in your very presidential bed. We are going to learn secret love stories from presidents that you might not know about for a second.
I thought presidential doughnuts were a real thing.
If you are going to make a presidential donut like the absolute pinnacle of donut, what kind of donut are we talking here? Ah, this is a hard question.
Definitely be a stuffed donut. Oh for sure. For sure. For sure. For sure. For sure. Because you need like a lot of like, you know, either like sweetness or or just like you gotta be stuffed.
There has to be stuffing because you need something both on the inside and then on the outside of the pastry as well. Like for example my and I feel guilty about this because I know these are really, really not good for me but I adore them the doughnuts that are powdered sugar on the outside and stuffed with icing on the inside vanilla cream icing. Oh the cream. Vanilla cream. Yeah, it's like it's like putting the frosting on a cake inside a donut and then rolling the whole whole donut in powdered sugar. That is my presidential donut. Well, we have quizzed each other on doughnuts. We also have the Presidential quiz. I feel like I'm going to fail this now. We don't know the answers. We don't know the answers. Behind the scenes are Jillian and Abigail and they have the answers. We know nothing here. So I am going to read the first question. We have to figure out if we know the answer and then we will be told the answer. Okay. All right. You ready? Yeah. Let's go. Alright, grab the Presidential doughnuts. Here we go. Okay, which first lady taught her husband to read while they were teenagers? Was it a Hannah and Martin Van Buren? The Eliza and Andrew Johnson or see Hillary and Bill Clinton? I
say I don't think it's see it's noxee out. I'm gonna say the van Buuren
I was leaning towards the van barons too but just for the sake of you know, covering the covering the spread I'll say be Eliza and Andrew Johnson. And now I get to be the the person from Family Feud survey says be Eliza and Andrew Johnson one for Sarah. All right, next question. Are you ready?
Okay, let's go.
Which First Lady and President while they were still courting spent four years long distance and sent each other pressed flowers in envelopes to keep the spark alive. Hmm. Is it a Julia and Ulysses S Grant B Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt or see Helen and William Taft? Okay. I have to tell you a quick when I was did something
about Taft Correct. You have that's a weird thing to get giggles about
when I was very late. I was a full nine and a half months pregnant. I was late. I was very large. My husband said wow, Sarah, you look like President Taft. And I was like, I hormonal. And I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I'm sure you looked adorable. I was that must mean that Taft was adorable.
I'm sure he was cute little guy. Alright, so which one grant the Roosevelt's with the TAFs sent each other pressed flowers.
I've heard great things about the Roosevelt marriage so I'm going to go with them the Roosevelt.
Alright, I am going for the TAFs team Taft. Which one? Survey says we were wrong. Julia and Ulysses S. Grant. Ah,
come on.
Are you ready for Question three?
I am. Alright.
This is I think the plot of one of your books. Oh, which first lady first caught sight of her future husband through a window shaving in his underwear and was struck by love at first
sight. So this is the plot of serving pleasure, but I don't believe I don't believe that my hero was shaving. It's definitely underway. His diamond underwear might have been in less than his underwear actually.
Serving pleasure by Alicia I highly recommend this book. We're all books are sold. Okay, who are options? Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln? Hmm. Grace and Calvin Coolidge or Jill and Joe Biden.
Oh, I hope I was the last one.
I'm gonna go with Coolidge. Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to go with the Hello, just well, survey says, Oh, we got
we got one right.
Oh, yeah. All right. Final question, which President and First Lady first met as actors in Hollywood, where one of them was president of the actors union and the other needed a favor from them? Was it Richard and Pat Nixon ladybird and Lyndon Johnson, or Nancy and Ronald Reagan?
I think I think I'm pretty sure it's see Nancy and Ronald Reagan. And
sir, he says Ronald Reagan. Yep. We were right. We did well, now. Okay. Yes. So recently on Twitter, there was a lot of discussion about the history of Nancy Reagan and about Nancy Reagan. The idea that she was asking for favors comes with a lot of story according to a kitty Kelly biography, I believe it was kitty Kelly. Nancy Reagan was known as the the best dispenser of oral pleasure in Hollywood. Yes, if you if you want to go on Twitter, I am not online enough. I know that. If you search the Twitter tread carefully, Nancy Reagan. She was allegedly quite skilled and proficient at at how shall euphemistically put this. Your romance author I need a phrase. I think people know
what we're saying. You see, people
know what I'm picking up what I'm putting down, I think yeah, people are picking up what you're laying down. Yeah.
Thanks, Sarah.
You're You're welcome. I'm sorry, everybody.
I was about to say something. And I don't know if I should say it. I think you should, but this kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm so sorry.
Okay, now that we have established ourselves as the absolute worst, and everyone has turned off this episode, so that they can go enjoy their presidential doughnuts and peace. It's time for presidential love stories. Are you ready?
I'm ready for everything. Now.
We each have a story to share here. So I'm going to go first. My love story for you is John and Abigail Adams. Okay, old historical romance is what this is historical. John and Abigail Adams met for the first time when she was 15. And he was 24. And he was all lay around her because a friend of his was interested in Abigail's older sister. So she was probably like the slightly annoying younger sister in this situation. Neither one of them are interested or impressed with the other I love when a story starts out like oh, yeah, that's but you're not all that. You're just you're really not. John journaled the entire encounter as a waste of time and said that their dad was a sneak trying to pawn off his daughter's zoo, while Abigail and her mother thought he was rude and to be honest, not very interesting. And their relationship slowly changed over the course of three years, he comes into town for business and since the family already knows him, they spend more time together and they get married three years later, they so they go from we're not impressed too. Okay. Ah, now what they are most famous for is their love letters, there are over 1000 Love letters that have survived and been preserved. So nice. Because of his presidency, and war and all this other stuff. They were often separated for years at a time, and their letters became the most enduring aspect of their relationship. So they are very clearly lovers and friends and partners and advisors to each other and they're kinda into each other despite not being into each other at the start. They you know, learned to appreciate each other. So here is a quote from one letter. This is from 10 years into their marriage. Is there no way for two friendly souls to converse together although the bodies are 400 miles off yes by letter, but I want a better communication. I want to hear you think or see your thoughts. The conclusion of your letter makes my heart throb more than a cannonade would you bid me burn your letters but I must forget you first. They were also pretty modern in their partnership. Abigail was so active as first lady she was nicknamed Mrs. President. She's very independent, resourceful when he was away for months at a time many of their letters. This is the best part began with my dearest friend. It's so lovely. When you can be friends with the people you are partnered with. I love that part of people's relationship.
Yeah, especially when you know it's such a I mean he's in the highest office like that is that's a hard place to sustain a friendship let alone a marriage based on French. Oh, yeah.
So that is the Adams is is is is that so
no I like that a lot. Would you bring me so I brought you Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, who are one of the longest Mary presidential couples in American history. They were hometown sweethearts who seven decade relationship saw them travel from their rural roots to the highest office in the land. Jimmy knew that he was going to marry Rosalyn after their first date. She was a close friend. I know she was a close friend of Ruth Carter, Jimmy's younger sister.
Oh, there it is. Again.
There it is. Again, that's that's how these like, that's how people met people. Right back in the day. You're just somebody's sister. Up became my wife. Though she had known Jimmy all her life. It wasn't until 1945 that romance blossomed. Rosalyn was a freshman at nearby Georgia Southwestern College. And when Jimmy returned home that summer he took notice of the pretty shy 17 year old this is my only issue with like historical romances are once so young it's so odd All right one night when plans with another girl fell through Jimmy spotted his sister. Yeah, I know isn't it's one an opportunistic thing. Jimmy spotted his sister and Rosalyn walking down the street and he impulsively asked her to the movies. I wonder what that girl who his date fell through it?
Oh, you know she's What did she learn it?
After the first date the to share their first kiss. They didn't wait at all. And Jimmy was immediately smitten. He told his mother he had met his future wife.
Isn't it amazing? When dudes are so certain like that?
I know I love It's like my favorite trope when the guy is just like yep, yep, faded mate. You know, like this is my fate. Adam calls
it the hold all calls. We have a winner moment. He says he says it senior year when we met.
That's a terrible. So the whirlwind courtship continued when they both returned to school and that winter, Jimmy proposed. She was initially concerned about how fast the relationship was moving and she wanted to finish college because she's a smart girl. But and so Rosalind said no, but Jimmy persisted. And when Rosalind visited Annapolis that spring, they became engaged with Jimmy gifting her compact engraved with letters, I L, Y t, g, which, oh my god, this is so cute. It was an acronym for Carter family saying I love you the goodest. And they spent their first like early married years on the move. So shortly after their wedding, they move for Jimmy's first naval assignment. And then they went to Hawaii and Pennsylvania, Connecticut, you know, Massachusetts, and they finally put down roots in New York State. But then she became Georgia's First Lady. And when he became president, all with their youngest child when he moved into the White House, where Rosalyn breaking with tradition became a close advisor to her husband. She was in fact, the first presidential spouse to have her own office in the East Wing. She sat in on cabinet meetings, and she advised on staff and personnel moves nice. In March of 2019, Jimmy became the longest living president in American history. And the couple prepared to mark their 73rd anniversary that year. That's amazing. I know. And so I guess they're 75 years together this
year. 75 What is that that's like platinum or something. You know, every anniversary, there's a gift. I feel like 7075 you just get a like a planet.
And this part is a little bit like it's very bittersweet, but they have plans for both of them to be buried under a willow tree on the grounds of their house in Plains where their story began.
I have a Jim and I have a Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter story. Oh, no.
Is this like the Reagan story? No. Fair if it is, I need you to keep it to yourself.
No, no, this is very sweet. One of my jobs. When I was in college, I worked at the front desk of a hotel. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And I, I will say front desk staff. If you've ever worked at the front desk, any customer facing job is hard. But it's every so often you get to check in somebody who's a celebrity and I arrived to work one night, and I was told this floor is blocked off. I was like, Oh, well Darren, is it a wedding? And they're like, No, it's Mr. And Mrs. Driftwood, and I didn't know what that meant. I was like, okay, and I'm thinking like Lightfoot like Gordon Lightfoot driftwood, who is no Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter checked in with their secret service detail and their family under the name Mr. And Mrs. driftwood.
Ah, so that was like your alias. And that adores amazing. That's cute. That's really really cute
fits to it's super mellow and adorable.
Yeah.
So what's our love to go along with our presidential doughnuts? I think that it's write letters. We've said this before. We're recycle. But letters are perennial. Right letters. Yeah,
they really are. Yeah, maybe not even a letter but I love like The Carters compact. Yeah, like the acronym. I love you the goodest Yeah, I think it's nice to give someone like a tangible reminder. I mean, you know, obviously the emotions are important and the feeling is what it's important. But you know, maybe maybe scribble something out for someone and pass them a little note.
Yeah, preserve your language between you. Well, we would love to hear your love story or which donut is your favorite? These are both very important questions, you can send an email to lovestruck daily frolic dot media if you have a love story to share if you have questions or thoughts, you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter at lovestruck daily, you can send us letters at that email address. By the way, if you want to write us love letters, we are really really down with that. You can leave a review another form of love letter and subscribe and spread the word about the show.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of lovestruck daily. We hope you're feeling is ah as we are new episodes of lovestruck daily are up every day Monday through Friday.
Our researcher is Jesse Epstein. Our editor is Jen Jacobs. Thank you Jen. Our producer is Abigail Steckler and little Scorpion studios. Our behind the scenes Hatcher of plans is Gillian Davis and we are executive produced by Frolik media and I Heart Radio. And we wish you a very presidential happily ever after with that with you I'm in love with you
