Inside Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas' Love Triangle with Aristotle Onassis from Someone Who Saw It All (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; Maria Callas; Aristotle Onassis.Photo:Central Press/Getty; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Len Trievnor/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty

Central Press/Getty; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Len Trievnor/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty

There weren’t many people closer toAristotle Onassisthan Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, his personal secretary and loyal gatekeeper.It was Moutsatsos who arranged for many of the secret assignations between Onassis, whom she fondly calls “Aristo,” and the opera divaMaria Callas— while he was married toJacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then the most famous woman in the world.Complicated would be an understatement. “He couldn’t live without Maria,” Moutsatsos, 75, tells PEOPLE.Over five decades later, the tempestuous love affair between the glamorous soprano and one of the world’s richest men is told in the new filmMaria, starringAngelina Jolie. (Haluk Bilginer portrays Onassis in the film, while Jackie is never shown onscreen.)But few, if any, are alive who remember the details as vividly as Moutsatsos, whose memoirThe Onassis Womenoffers a close look at the famous love triangle.“Maria was a piece of his soul, of his body, of his brain,” recalls Moutsatsos. “That’s why they never believed that they could be separate.”Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via GettyEven after Onassis married Jackie on Oct. 20, 1969. “He was proud of that,” recalls Moutsatsos, who attended the wedding on his private island of Skorpios. “He had succeeded in getting married and having next to him the First Lady of the United States.” After all, she adds, “he was a businessman.”For the Greek shipping magnate, the beautiful widow of the 35th president was the ultimate status symbol. For Jackie, Onassis represented safety and security for her and her children, John and Caroline. Onassis had his own private security, his own airline, his own island and unlimited financial resources.The marriage did not impede his affair with Callas, whom Onassis first met in 1957, when they were both still married, she to Giovanni Meneghini and the Greek tycoon to his first wife, Athina Livanos.Once their affair began, “They never stopped seeing each other. Never,” says Moutsatsos.Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis.Bettmann ArchiveAccording to Moutsatsos, both women were very aware — and wary — of the other. Of Jackie, she says, “Maria said many things. Of course she was mad — and she was also very proud. I remember once she said, ‘I don’t want to be compared with this woman.’ ”As for Jackie, she often confided in Ari’s sister, Artemis Garofallidou, to whom Moutsatsos was also close. “Jackie was never screaming, never fighting,” she recalls. “Although she knew many things from Aristo’s behavior but she was pretending that nothing happened. She was very smart.”“Everyone in the house knew he was visiting Maria secretly at night,” she adds. “And Artemis told her not to fight him. Just ignore it. Not that it would have changed him.”“But Jackie was not happy,” she says. “She had melancholy. She never spoke [directly] about Maria Callas. What she spoke of was Onassis’s behavior. If I could characterize her, I would say that she was behaving like a cat. Very smart. Very clever. She would wait for the right moment to speak with him about his behavior.”Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy in 1968.Bettmann ArchiveBut even Jackie wasn’t a match for the woman known as “La Divina.” Says Moutsatsos: “They [Callas and Onassis] were born for each other.“Onassis died March 15, 1975, at age 69 from respiratory failure due to complications from myasthenia gravis. Afterward, says Moutsatsos, Callas “lost her appetite to live. She didn’t want to eat. She didn’t want to go out. She didn’t want to speak with friends.”By then, she had withdrawn from public life. She died Sept. 3, 1977 at age 53 from a heart attack.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Mariadirector Pablo Larraín (who also made the 2016 filmJackiestarring Natalie Portman) has said “very extensive research” went into the new film. Still, he toldDeadline, “I don’t think this is a proper biopic. That is an invention from culture. I don’t think a movie can actually capture anyone in reality, unless that person is in front of you talking to you.”“I’m the only one who remembers,” says Moutsatsos, who has partnered with producers Jack Monderer and Beth Tribolet and is working with director Heidi Lauren Duke on a short film,The Heiress, now screening on the festival circuit. “In my book is the real truth.”Mariais in select theaters now, then streaming on Netflix Dec. 11.

There weren’t many people closer toAristotle Onassisthan Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, his personal secretary and loyal gatekeeper.

It was Moutsatsos who arranged for many of the secret assignations between Onassis, whom she fondly calls “Aristo,” and the opera divaMaria Callas— while he was married toJacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then the most famous woman in the world.

Complicated would be an understatement. “He couldn’t live without Maria,” Moutsatsos, 75, tells PEOPLE.

Over five decades later, the tempestuous love affair between the glamorous soprano and one of the world’s richest men is told in the new filmMaria, starringAngelina Jolie. (Haluk Bilginer portrays Onassis in the film, while Jackie is never shown onscreen.)

But few, if any, are alive who remember the details as vividly as Moutsatsos, whose memoirThe Onassis Womenoffers a close look at the famous love triangle.

“Maria was a piece of his soul, of his body, of his brain,” recalls Moutsatsos. “That’s why they never believed that they could be separate.”

Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Even after Onassis married Jackie on Oct. 20, 1969. “He was proud of that,” recalls Moutsatsos, who attended the wedding on his private island of Skorpios. “He had succeeded in getting married and having next to him the First Lady of the United States.” After all, she adds, “he was a businessman.”

For the Greek shipping magnate, the beautiful widow of the 35th president was the ultimate status symbol. For Jackie, Onassis represented safety and security for her and her children, John and Caroline. Onassis had his own private security, his own airline, his own island and unlimited financial resources.

The marriage did not impede his affair with Callas, whom Onassis first met in 1957, when they were both still married, she to Giovanni Meneghini and the Greek tycoon to his first wife, Athina Livanos.

Once their affair began, “They never stopped seeing each other. Never,” says Moutsatsos.

Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis.Bettmann Archive

Bettmann Archive

According to Moutsatsos, both women were very aware — and wary — of the other. Of Jackie, she says, “Maria said many things. Of course she was mad — and she was also very proud. I remember once she said, ‘I don’t want to be compared with this woman.’ ”

As for Jackie, she often confided in Ari’s sister, Artemis Garofallidou, to whom Moutsatsos was also close. “Jackie was never screaming, never fighting,” she recalls. “Although she knew many things from Aristo’s behavior but she was pretending that nothing happened. She was very smart.”

“Everyone in the house knew he was visiting Maria secretly at night,” she adds. “And Artemis told her not to fight him. Just ignore it. Not that it would have changed him.”

“But Jackie was not happy,” she says. “She had melancholy. She never spoke [directly] about Maria Callas. What she spoke of was Onassis’s behavior. If I could characterize her, I would say that she was behaving like a cat. Very smart. Very clever. She would wait for the right moment to speak with him about his behavior.”

Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy in 1968.Bettmann Archive

But even Jackie wasn’t a match for the woman known as “La Divina.” Says Moutsatsos: “They [Callas and Onassis] were born for each other.”

Onassis died March 15, 1975, at age 69 from respiratory failure due to complications from myasthenia gravis. Afterward, says Moutsatsos, Callas “lost her appetite to live. She didn’t want to eat. She didn’t want to go out. She didn’t want to speak with friends.”

By then, she had withdrawn from public life. She died Sept. 3, 1977 at age 53 from a heart attack.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Mariadirector Pablo Larraín (who also made the 2016 filmJackiestarring Natalie Portman) has said “very extensive research” went into the new film. Still, he toldDeadline, “I don’t think this is a proper biopic. That is an invention from culture. I don’t think a movie can actually capture anyone in reality, unless that person is in front of you talking to you.”

“I’m the only one who remembers,” says Moutsatsos, who has partnered with producers Jack Monderer and Beth Tribolet and is working with director Heidi Lauren Duke on a short film,The Heiress, now screening on the festival circuit. “In my book is the real truth.”

Mariais in select theaters now, then streaming on Netflix Dec. 11.

source: people.com