What I Like About This: You might recognize the young man on the left, he would become the 35th President of the United States. Seated next to him is Lem Billings, the two met in 1933 at Choate Rosemary Hall. As teenagers they worked together on their class’s yearbook, and Billings became sexually attracted to the handsome young Kennedy.
Billings made his desire known while the two were still at school by writing Kennedy a love note on a piece of toilet paper. A startled Kennedy responded to the note by saying, “Please don’t write to me on toilet paper anymore. I'm not that kind of boy.” Nevertheless, it is widely reported that the two engaged in a lifelong love affair of sorts which included a sexual aspect.
During Kennedy's presidency, Billings was such a frequent visitor to the White House that a designated bedroom was maintained for his exclusive use. When Kennedy died, Biographer Sally Bedell Smith referred to Billings as “probably the saddest of the Kennedy widows.”
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