Tragic Details About Monica Lewinsky’s Scandal-Scarred Life

In 1998, everyone knew the name Monica Lewinsky. As her affair with former President Bill Clinton became public, she never expected to be remembered for it. 

The affair was on the front page, but Lewinsky’s struggles were ignored. The media scrutiny was rigid on Lewinsky. She was publicly vilified and isolated and struggled with her mental health. 

The internet has been around since the 1990s. We take digital news for granted, but the internet was new when the Clinton scandal made headlines in 1998. Monica Lewinsky was the first person to go viral for the wrong reasons. 

The worst part of the negative press Lewinsky got was how fast it spread. 

Lewinsky now uses social media to connect with supporters. She joined a Taylor Swift meme on X, formerly Twitter.

This joke shows how Lewinsky has changed her story for a new digital audience. 

She has been called a slut even though sex positivity is becoming more common. Women like Monica Lewinsky have been called sluts for having sex. Like many others, she was reduced to a single act that was never meant to be public. 

Jay Leno is one of the worst. A study by Today says Leno made 454 negative references to Lewinsky on the Tonight Show. 

The #MeToo movement and changing views helped slow the public humiliation of Lewinsky, but hurtful euphemisms still exist. 

She didn’t speak to her brother for a year.

Her parents were supportive. They were very close. 

One Lewinsky family member was kept away from the public affair. Monica’s younger brother is Michael. Michael is Monica’s only sibling. He was born four years after her. 

The Daily Mail says that Monica and Michael spoke only about a year ago, starting in January 1998. They’ve since reunited, but lost time can’t be regained. 

Lewinsky was stuck in the situation. The stigma of the affair lasted well into the 21st century, even as Monica Lewinsky started helping with good causes in the mid-2010s. In her Vanity Fair essay, she shared an anecdote from 2015. I started working with anti-bullying organizations around the world. “I was asked not to walk the red carpet at an event,” she wrote.

CNN said the host apologized, but this is just one of many times she was disrespected. 

She struggled with her mental health. In 1999, Monica Lewinsky told Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow about her crush on Bill Clinton. “I regret the relationship and meeting him,” she said. This is no surprise, given her mental health struggles during the Clinton scandal. From the start, Lewinsky felt the weight of the situation. It even made her think about suicide. 

Lewinsky had some good influences in her life. In 2021, she told CNN that a new relationship helped her cope with suicidal feelings during the investigation. Lewinsky took the road less traveled since 1998.