Jackie Kennedy was engaged three times and married twice, first to President John F. Kennedy and then to Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis
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NEED TO KNOW
- Jackie Kennedy was married twice: first to President John F. Kennedy, and later to Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis
- JFK proposed with a toi et moi engagement ring, while Onassis gave her a 40-carat marquise diamond
- Following Jackie’s 1994 death, many wondered what happened to her rings from her two marriages
Jackie Kennedy (née Bouvier) received three engagement rings in her lifetime.
Jackie’s first engagement came at 21, about a month into dating stockbroker John G. Husted Jr. in 1951. Little is known about that ring, but InStyle reported that it was allegedly a sapphire-and-diamond ring, and that she returned it to him by slipping it into his jacket pocket as she took him to the airport in 1952.
Not long after, Jackie began dating John F. Kennedy, who popped the question in June 1953 with a dual-stone ring from Van Cleef & Arpels.
The pair tied the knot on Sept. 12, 1953, and welcomed four children, though only two ever left the hospital: daughter Caroline Kennedy and late son John F. Kennedy Jr. Just over a decade after their nuptials, the president was assassinated next to Jackie on Nov. 22, 1963.
Years later, Jackie got engaged for the second time to Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis. They said “I do” on Oct. 20, 1968, and she then became known as “Jackie O.” They remained married until Onassis died of respiratory failure on March 15, 1975, though they had been having marital trouble in the months leading up to his death.
Jackie died on May 19, 1994, less than a year after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 64. At the time, she was survived by her children and her longtime partner, the late Maurice Tempelsman.
In the years since her death, many have wondered where Jackie’s treasured items and heirlooms, including her engagement rings from JFK and Onassis, now live. Here’s everything we know about where the rings are today.
Jackie Kennedy’s Toi et Moi Engagement Ring from JFK

Credit: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty
JFK and Jackie’s romance began in 1952 after a mutual friend introduced them. The pair later announced their engagement on June 24, 1953. Jackie wasn’t photographed with an engagement ring at the time, and she reportedly told the press that they were still looking for the right one.
The then-future president eventually gave her a toi et moi ring from Van Cleef & Arpels, reportedly picked out by JFK’s father Joseph Kennedy. The ring centered on a 2.88-carat diamond and a 2.84-carat emerald, both set on a band accented with additional diamonds and emeralds, per Vogue. The rock was reportedly inspired by the one Napoleon Bonaparte proposed to Josephine de Beauharnais with in 1796, according to InStyle.
In 1962, she sent the ring back to Van Cleef & Arpels to be reset, and the new design included .66 carats of round diamonds and 1.46 carats of marquise-cut diamonds that framed the two center stones, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
After her death, Jackie’s ring became part of her estate. The sparkler now lives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, per Natural Diamonds. According to the museum’s website, the ring is in the company of her wedding dress, engagement weekend scrapbook and wedding invitation, among other personal items.
Jackie Kennedy’s 40-Carat Diamond Ring from Aristotle Onassis

Credit: Bettmann
Jackie and Onassis started dating in 1967, when the Greek shipping tycoon invited her to join him in Skorpios. Onassis was previously in a relationship with Jackie’s sister, Lee Radziwill, who later learned of their engagement when he called to extend a personal invitation to the celebration.
According to Natural Diamonds, Onassis proposed to Jackie with a 40-carat marquise diamond, known as the Lesotho III, purchased from Harry Winston.
In April 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported that Sotheby’s sold the ring at auction for $2.58 million.
Appraisers valued the ring at $600,000. Weight Watchers founders Albert and Felice Lippert purchased the jewelry on behalf of an unidentified “dear friend,” meaning there’s no trace of where it might be today, per the publication.
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