Henry Kissinger, the controversial former secretary of state, died on November 29, 2023, at 100 years old. He will be remembered for his work as a trusted advisor to presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His complicated legacy during the Vietnam War will be debated for years to come.
A lesser known aspect of Henry was his way with the ladies. During his tenure in the White House's West Wing, he dated many prominent actresses and was called a “playboy.” Those who knew him best say this was just a fun persona and at his core he was all about the work.
In 1970, Henry dated actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor, whom he was set up with by his boss, then-President Richard Nixon. They had a wonderful first date and things were heating up. Then Henry’s pager went off and he never got his kiss. He had to go back into work.
Zsa Zsa recalled the missed opportunity in her 1991 autobiography One Lifetime Is Not Enough. “Henry, come back immediately. I need you,” she recalled President Nixon telling his trusted advisor.
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Henry must have done something right because Zsa Zsa still sent him flowers following their date. “My whole staff looks at me differently since I got flowers from you,” he told her. Zsa Zsa agreed to go out with Henry again but he ended up canceling the day-of because of a work emergency.
“I can’t fly down because we’re invading Cambodia tomorrow,” Henry told her. “It’s a big secret, you are the first person outside the White House who knows about it.”
This was a theme in Henry’s romantic escapades. He was once linked to Jill St. John, the first American Bond girl, and they even caused a splash by setting off her alarm late one night. “It has not been and will never be a great romance,” Jill stated to Women’s Wear Daily.
Marsha Metrinko, another actress Henry dated, agreed with Jill. Work got in the way of any chance for a great romance. “I was always home by midnight,” she recalled. “There always seemed to be a crisis. In San Clemente, he’d always get called away from the table a lot.”
Still, Henry developed a reputation for being a ladies' man thanks in part to Sally Quinn, a journalist from The Washington Post. While at a dinner party, she asked him if he was a swinger, which at the time meant dating frequently.
“I can’t admit that I’m a swinger without getting into trouble. I can’t admit that I’m not a swinger, so why don’t we say I’m a secret swinger,” Henry answered. Sally wrote about their interaction, which changed the public perception of Henry. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner would go on to give him a free Playboy subscription and Women’s Wear Daily would give him the unofficial title of “Playboy of the Western Wing.”
Those that knew Henry best rejected the public playboy image. “He never was a playboy,” Lenore Fleischer Reich, his former sister-in-law, stated.
“Henry’s idea of sex is to slow the car down to 30 mph when he drops you off at the door,” friend Barbara Howar joked.
His wife, Nancy Maginnes, also disputed this version of Henry. “Henry’s so square. He’s always been square,” she concluded. Nancy and Henry married in 1974 and were together until his death.
