Strange Things About Jill And Joe Biden's Marriage

On paper, Joe and Jill Biden have a fairytale marriage. Their love story began in 1975 when one of Joe's brothers set them up on a blind date. Speaking to Vogue in 2016, the educator fondly recalled how they watched "A Man and a Woman" for their first date and sparks flew instantly. At the time, Jill mainly went on dates with fellow carefree college students, so she was thoroughly impressed when Joe ended the night with a warm handshake. 

However, they were both wary about jumping into new relationships back then. While Jill was reeling from the end of her first marriage to Bill Stevenson, Joe was grieving the loss of his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and their toddler, Naomi Biden. In the First Lady's 2019 memoir, "Where The Light Enters," she admitted, "After the disappointment of my divorce, I never wanted to feel so out of control of my heart again."

Despite her reservations, she couldn't help but fall head over heels for Joe, and he felt the same way. In the President's 2007 memoir, "Promises to Keep," he gushed about his wife, writing, "She gave me back my life. She made me start to think my family might be whole again," per BBC. The pair tied the knot in 1977 and raised three children together. All this, coupled with the fact that Jill supported Joe through the highs and lows of his career, paints an idealistic picture of their marriage. In reality, however, their long-standing union is full of strange details that fly under most people's radars.

Speaking to Vogue in 2016, Jill Biden admitted that she couldn't see herself getting into a serious relationship with Joe Biden after she laid eyes on him for the first time. She recalled how the then-Senator had arrived to their first date donning a more formal attire with a sport coat and loafers, a stark contrast to the fellow college students she had going on dates with at the time. Of course, their 9-year age gap didn't do them any favors in Jill's mind. 

As a result, it's unsurprising that Joe left her silently admitting, "'God, this is never going to work, not in a million years.'" And while she eventually grew to adore Joe, she was still extremely reluctant to lock things down with him. In "Where the Light Enters," Jill admitted that the prospect of marrying a politician frightened her because she never wanted to lose her sense of independence, give up her career, or simply be known as "Jill Biden, senator's wife."

The educator detailed her reservations, writing, "Being Joe's wife would mean a life in the spotlight that I had never wanted," she continued. "I was a college student when we'd first met, and I liked living under the radar. Joe lived with constant public visibility." Ultimately, Joe proposed five times in two years and finally gave her an ultimatum because his children had grown attached to her, and he couldn't risk having uncertainty in their lives. And that was when she finally agreed to marry him.

During a 2020 chat with the Daily Mail, Jill Biden's first husband, Bill Stevenson, claimed that his wife lied about how she met Joe Biden. According to Stevenson's account, he introduced the pair by organizing a fundraiser for Joe's Senator campaign in 1972. Stevenson noted that he eventually began to suspect his wife was having an affair with Joe, and his beliefs were confirmed when someone informed him that Joe had crashed Jill's Corvette. 

However, when Stevenson questioned his then-wife about her infidelity, she didn't confirm nor deny it, which is all the proof he needed to end their marriage. "I've said from the very beginning that I have no hard feelings, about Joe, Jill, the affair," Stevenson ultimately stated. "But if I don't do it now, it's never going to be able to be brought up." However, a rep for Jill denied his story, insisting, "These claims are fictitious, seemingly to sell and promote a book. The relationship of Joe and Jill Biden is well documented." 

It's worth noting that Jill's ex-husband is no stranger to firing off harsh claims against the First Family. Speaking on Newsmax's "Greg Kelly Reports" in 2023, Stevenson claimed that the Biden family tried to make his life miserable because he'd angered them. He alleged the President's brother, Frank Biden, had made a thinly veiled threat to coax him into handing the keys of his house to Jill during their divorce. Stevenson also alluded that Joe had used his political influence to financially strain him in different ways.

In "Where the Light Enters," Jill Biden recalled how the Democratic Party was desperately trying to get Joe Biden to run for office in 2004. Although Jill and Joe mutually decided against joining the ticket, the Party still tried to get him on board with the idea through several meetings. During one such occasion, Jill realized she had enough. "I decided I needed to contribute to this conversation," she wrote, per The Hill. "As I walked through the kitchen, a Sharpie caught my eye. I drew NO on my stomach in big letters, and marched through the room in my bikini. Needless to say, they got the message." 

Of course, the educator was happy to support him through his 2020 bid, but their time on his campaign trail brought yet another strange moment. While delivering a speech to a crowd in Iowa in 2019, the future First Lady was gesturing with her hands, and her husband decided to nibble her fingers. The crowd erupted into awkward laughter, and Jill had no choice but to join in. 

As the bizarre moment started doing rounds on social media, "The View" host Meghan McCain weighed in with a unique take. The talk show host stated that she couldn't understand why social media users were so weirded out by what was clearly an affectionate gesture shared between spouses who loved each other dearly. Jill quoted the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, "Guilty, we do still love each other!"

Joe Biden's habit of mistaking other women for his wife, Jill Biden, has created some truly awkward moments. While delivering his Super Tuesday speech in 2020, Joe mistakenly introduced his wife as his sister, Valerie, who was actually standing on his other side. To his credit, though, Joe realized his mistake almost instantly and explained that his wife and sister had switched positions without him noticing. 

However, the awkwardness of that moment pales in comparison to the time he appeared to be in deep conversation with another woman after apparently mistaking her for his wife. To make matters worse, the chat only ended when the First Lady came to his rescue. In fact, there was even a time when Joe awkwardly mistook Vice President Kamala Harris for his wife. In March 2022, the Vice President had to skip out on appearing at an Equal Pay Day event because her husband, Doug Emhoff, had contradicted COVID. 

So, Joe delivered a speech in Harris' stead and made an error while explaining her absence, saying, "There's been a little change in arrangement of who is on the stage because of the first lady's husband contracting Covid." Needless to say, the First Lady's husband is the President, which is Joe. The politician only realized his error when the audience laughed and pointed to Jill and said, "That's right, she's fine." He also tried to defuse the awkwardness by casually saying, "Second lady – the first gentleman, how about that?"

Although most people dubbed Joe Biden's performance at the first 2024 presidential debate disastrous, Jill Biden publicly begged to disagree. At a "Let's Go Joe" event immediately afterward, she got up on stage and patted her confused-looking husband on the back for "answering every question" and "[knowing] all the facts." While Jill was clearly only trying to be supportive of Joe, the clip came across as a mother praising her child for learning something basic. 

Over the years, we have seen several instances of Jill becoming more of a caretaker in their relationship instead of an equal partner. In 2022, we saw a clip of Joe struggling to get into a jacket. Even with the First Lady's help, the task proved tougher than expected. Things only got more awkward when Joe dropped his glasses, and Jill seemingly couldn't cope with the embarrassment, so she just walked away. 

And there was also a time when she had to step in and remind Joe of his favorite food. When the pair sat down for a chat with Ryan Seacrest for ABC in January 2024, the host inquired about some of Joe's favorite holiday foods, and as he started answering, Jill interjected in an almost motherly tone to remind him of "Ice cream." Given all this, it's unsurprising that a body language expert exclusively told The List that Jill might 'explode' from putting Joe's needs first.