JFK's Former Mistresses Reveal Intimate Details About Their 'Irresistible' Affairs With the President in New Book

John F. Kennedy's private life is back under the spotlight as a new book explores his relationships with several women outside his marriage to Jackie Kennedy.

In Ladies' Man: The Careless Heart of John F. Kennedy, author Laurence Leamer details the president's affairs, using accounts from women who experienced his charm.

Laurence's book examines John's relationships with women ranging from White House interns to socialites, while exploring how his health problems may have influenced his behavior.

"He was a brilliant politician but a troubled man, and the s-- and the drugs were one way he tried to live beyond his endless and serious health problems," Laurence said in an interview.

The author also described s-- as John's way of pushing back against his ongoing medical struggles, writing that "s-- was JFK's way of defying his endless ailments, and he became a s-- addict."

Mimi Beardsley was just 19 when she began working as a White House intern in 1962.

According to Laurence, John initiated a sexual encounter with her in the first lady's bedroom.

"For Kennedy, f------- was a tedious waste of time. He began to undress Beardsley. Before she knew what was happening, the president had p--------- her and was putting on his pants. Beardsley lay on the bed in pain. Much of it was because it was her first time. The president turned toward her, showing concern," the author continued.

Mimi said, "When he became more tender and solicitous, more aware of me... I actually felt close to him."

Helen Chavchavadze, a divorced brunette John met in 1959, continued seeing him during his presidency "despite her qualms" about the affair.

"I was never someone who had extramarital affairs," she detailed. "It was not my style, but it was irresistible with Jack. It may have looked like beautiful convertibles and women and sophistication, but it was the shadow destroying the self."

Lauren wrote that Helen suffered a nervous breakdown in 1963, which she partly attributed to the burden of keeping their relationship secret and fearing she was being watched.

Meanwhile, Diana de Vegh said her encounters with Kennedy were often emotionally distressing rather than fulfilling.

"My heavens, no. Maybe it was once, just after the first time. But no—I can't recall a time when one of our lovemaking sessions didn't leave me, at one point or another, either in hysterics or tears or both," she explained, per Laurence.

Diana attributed her continued involvement to "fascination," adding that she wanted to remain close to "power, or history, or influence."

Swedish socialite Gunilla von Post met John in France in 1953, shortly before his marriage to Jackie.

"He made love 'with his hands, with his marvelous, healthy Irish skin, with his mouth—with everything,'" Gunilla recalled in the book.

When John told her Jackie was pregnant, Gunilla was in "agonizing shock."

After she questioned their future, John reassured her, "Don't think that."

"I have to have a life, and a future. I want my own family," she told him.

"I do, too," John replied, adding, "I hope a baby will help. But I can't feel about my wife the way I do about you."

Laurence added, "Despite the pregnancy, he wanted his affair with von Post to continue. To help convince her, he said that she meant more to him than Jackie ever would. That may have been true, but she realized for the first time that their affair could not go on."