The President’s Lady

Rachel was considered an adulteress because she left her husband Lewis Robards and married Andrew Jackson before her divorce was officially finalized. In the late 1780s, Lewis obtained a divorce accusing Rachel of adultery, which branded her with that label in the public eye. Even though she and Andrew later remarried after the divorce was settled, the accusation and the controversy surrounding their hasty courtship never fully faded.

Their marriage caused a scandal because Rachel was still legally married to Lewis Robards when she fled with Andrew in 1789. The couple escaped together while Rachel's husband pursued them, and they lived in Natchez as man and wife before the divorce was finalized. This hasty arrangement led to rumors that Rachel had committed adultery, a label that followed her for decades and was later exploited politically.

When Andrew and Rachel fled to Natchez, Andrew learned that while an annulment might allow them to marry, it would not be legally recognized in the United States. Rachel refused to derail Andrew's political career by pursuing this uncertain legal path and instead asked him to return to Nashville to obtain a proper divorce for her. The couple had to weigh the legal, social, and political costs of being together.

Eight years after building The Hermitage, Rachel received an invitation to a ladies' club, which initially seemed to signal her acceptance into Nashville society. However, the invitation was actually a subtle reminder of the lingering gossip about her past, references were made to the scandal surrounding her divorce from Lewis Robards. The gesture, meant to welcome her, became another public humiliation that isolated her further.

Earlier scenes established that rumors about Rachel's past had never fully subsided despite their years of marriage.

Lincoya was an orphaned Indian infant that Andrew and Rachel cared for after he returned from leading a militia against Indian threats. The timing of Lincoya's arrival coincided with a period when Rachel had lost her brother to Indians and was dealing with the emotional aftermath. Taking in the orphaned child symbolized a fragile attempt to build family bonds amid the violence and loss that surrounded their lives.

After Andrew won a major horse race and was named general of the state militia, Charles Dickinson provocatively taunted him about the earlier rumors regarding Rachel's fidelity. The insult to both Andrew and Rachel's honor led to a duel in which Dickinson was slain and Andrew was wounded. The incident demonstrated how the couple's past scandal continued to haunt them and exposed the perilous costs of pursuing public life and honor.

Rachel died shortly after Andrew won the 1828 presidential election but before his inauguration in 1829. Throughout the campaign, Rachel had become frail and anxious, even sneaking out to hear Andrew speak, where she endured jeers from crowds who called her unfit for the role of First Lady. The physical and emotional toll of the relentless campaign, combined with her lifelong struggles, proved too much for her declining health.

After Rachel died, Andrew struggled to keep his promise to honor her memory. Just before his inauguration, he gazed at a miniature portrait of Rachel and silently vowed to carry her legacy into the White House. This moment marked the culmination of their decades-long struggle together, he had achieved the highest political office, but without the woman who had stood by him through scandal, war, and relentless public scorn.

Lewis Robards obtained a divorce from Rachel, accusing her of adultery after she fled with Andrew Jackson in 1789. The divorce accusation branded Rachel as an adulteress in the public record, a stigma that would follow her for the rest of her life. When word reached Andrew and Rachel in Nashville, Rachel was crushed by the accusation but ultimately agreed to marry Andrew again, as the divorce had cleared the way for their union.

The Hermitage was the fine new home Andrew built for Rachel after returning from militia service. It represented his commitment to providing her with security and respectability after years of hardship. However, despite the physical comfort of the estate, Rachel still endured social humiliation there, and the loss of Lincoya had already deepened the family's vulnerabilities, making the home a place of both hope and lingering pain.