Pat Nixon was a working woman in her mid-20s when she met the future president, and she didn't fall in love with him quite as easily as he did with her. They met while acting together in a community theater, and on their first date Richard asked Pat to marry him. She later reflected, "I thought he was nuts or something!" Richard wasn't prepared to give in, and he courted her for two years while gaining her friendship – he even drove her on dates with other men. As time went on, Pat was wooed by his drive and ambition… and his sense of fun. "Oh but you just don’t realize how much fun he is! He’s just so much fun," she once said. Eventually, she was won over, and in 1940 they married. "Every day and every night I want to see you and be with you. Yet I have no feeling of selfish ownership or jealousy. Let's go for a long ride Sunday; let's go to the mountains weekends; let's read books in front of fires; most of all, let's really grow together and find the happiness we know is ours."
The Nixons' love didn't wane as the years wore on – indeed, it was as strong as ever when they moved into the White House, when Pat stood by Richard as he resigned his presidency, and until Pat's death, less than a year before Richard's. Richard's unabashed tears at his wife's funeral were a testament to the deep love that lasted a lifetime. The president, often very serious in the public eye, lit up when speaking of his beloved:
Only a few of the love letters have been released in anticipation of the exhibit, but we look forward to reading more of this presidential love story. Written by Linnea Crowther
