The sensational story of Mimi Alford and the secret she kept for 40 years - her teenage affair with President John F Kennedy during her time as a White House Intern.During the 18 months that Mimi Alford was President John F Kennedy's lover, he never kissed her on the lips. For the naive All American girl, the JFK White House was a place for which she was not remotely prepared. Dominated by the charismatic and sexually magnetic figure of the president, it was as a 19-year-old intern in the White House press office that Mimi Alford became the object of Kennedy's affections, and within days they had started a relationship. She lost her virginity to him on her fourth day at work.In Once Upon a Secret, for the first time, Alford has revealed every detail of her experiences as Kennedy's mistress - an affair that was ended only by his assassination. Mimi has decided, after 40 years of silence and deep reflection, to tell her story.

In 1963, Mimi Beardsley was a naive young American girl, very much a product of her class and time - she had attended the same exclusive girls' school as Jackie Bouvier, now installed in the White House as the president's wife. Which is also where Mimi found herself, as an 18-year-old intern. The JFK White House was a place for which she was not remotely prepared, dominated by the charismatic and sexually rapacious figure of the president. Within days, they had started a relationship.