This article was originally published on travellergazette.com

Throughout history, numerous iconic figures, potentially including those you studied in school, have identified as LGBTQ. This diversity spans authors, actors, royals, and politicians, including a US President, regardless of societal norms or legal constraints of their times. During Hollywood’s Golden Era, studio bosses manipulated stars’ lives for better ratings, arranging fake marriages and hiding truths. Stars led double lives, their true identities only emerging after death. Discover the icons who harbored secret lives…

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, a highly influential First Lady, faced a complex personal life. She endured her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s affair with his secretary in the 1920s, staying together for public image despite the marriage’s emotional toll.

The discovery of the affair through letters led Eleanor to form a close relationship with Lorena Hickok, a forthright reporter. Their deep connection, evidenced by thousands of letters, hints at a profound love story, challenging norms and sparking historical intrigue.