Carol McCain
Former fashion model Carol McCain was married to Republican senator and presidential candidate John McCain from 1965 until 1980.1
Carol McCain also served as personal assistant to Nancy Reagan during Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential primary campaign and ran the White House Visitors Office from 1981 to 1985.1 In August 2008, lawsuit records emerged that showed that John McCain's mother, Roberta, sued Carol in 1980.2
Fast Facts
- Maiden Name: Carol Shepp
- Born: 1937
- Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Three children: Douglas and Andrew adopted by John McCain and Sidney with him
- Has not remarried
- Former director of the White House Visitors' Center
- 1969: Suffered a horrific car accident
- Medical treatment paid for by Ross Perot1
The Accident
In late December of 1969, while John McCain was still a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Carol McCain was in a car accident. Thrown from the vehicle, her injuries included crushed legs, broken arm and pelvis, and internal bleeding.1
Her recovery required months of physical therapy to regain the use of her legs, and she lost four inches of height. John McCain learned of the accident and Carol McCain's physical condition during their first telephone conversation following his release in 1973.1
Divorce
John McCain met and started dating Cindy Hensley in 1979. Carol McCain agreed to divorce John McCain and agreed to a settlement that included two houses in Florida and ongoing financial support for her medical treatments.3
The divorce was finalized in April of 1980. Carol McCain and John McCain remain on good terms.3
Carol McCain Quote
"The break-up of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone... I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else."—Carol McCain3
"McCain is the classic opportunist. He's always reaching for attention and glory. After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history."— Ross Perot1
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