Following her death on Oct. 8, 2025, PEOPLE remembers the impact of the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident on Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Joan Kennedy made her final public appearance at the Kennedy family's annual Fourth of July celebration. The first wife of Ted Kennedy was pictured among a sea of family members three months before ...

Honesty is always the best policy. If only Sen. Ted Kennedy abided by it in the tumultuous year of 1969. Backdropped by his brothers' assassinations, the "giant leap for mankind" and the Vietnam War, ...

In past interviews with PEOPLE, Joan opened up about not fitting in with the famous family and struggling to find her place in the Camelot era For a time, Joan muted her sorrows with alcohol, but ...

Joan Kennedy (second from left) poses with (left to right) Patrick, Kara, Ted Jr. and Ted after earning her master's from Lesley College Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of Sen. Ted Kennedy and ...

For more on Joan Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident, listen below to PEOPLE's "Cover-Up" podcast. Former Congressman Patrick added, "Besides being a loving mother, talented musician, and ...

Joan Bennett Kennedy, the former wife of Sen Edward M Kennedy, has died. She was 89. She was one of the last remaining members of a family generation that included President John F Kennedy. A model ...

Ted Kennedy and his first wife, Joan Kennedy, welcomed three children together before their split. The pair met in 1957 and were married for 22 years before they went their separate ways in 1978 and ...