Did Alan Shepard Really Cheat on His Wife? Apparently, Astronauts Weren't Very Faithful to Their Spouses
By Gina VaynshteynOct. 12 2020, Updated 9:18 p.m. ET
If you believe you studied the first couple episodes of the new Disney+ display, The Right Stuff, a sequence about the real-life astronaut staff, the Mercury Seven (also called the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1), then you probably are officially obsessed with area shuttle (if you weren't already) and have numerous questions about the astronauts themselves. The Mercury Seven have been the primary astronauts to get the fame treatment. All eyes have been on them, as they "competed" with each and every different and educated to shuttle into space.
On plot line particularly, that has not anything to do with exact space shuttle, is astronaut Alan Shepard's infidelity. Alan is performed by means of Jake McDorman and Shannon Lucio performs his spouse, Louise. In the display, Alan cheats on Louise, and it is beautiful heartbreaking to watch. But did it happen in real existence?
Did Alan Shepard in reality commit adultery?
Alan Shepard, the first American to go to area, used to be accused of dishonest on his wife on many occasions. Neal Thompson, writer of the Alan Shepard biography, Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard mentioned, "He was accused over the years of being a bit of a womanizer." And in accordance to The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story, via Lily Koppel, Alan was seen at "swinging parties" with "multiple women hanging off his arm," and it seems that was once even photographed with a sex worker, however publicists begged the ones photos to never go to press.
Allegedly, the real-life Astronaut Wives Club known as Louise "Saint Louise" because she appeared the other way whilst all of this was once taking place and supposedly responded "I'm the one he really loves" when faced about what Alan used to be doing. In reality, Louise used to be so trustworthy, that the 2 stayed married via it all, and after 50 years of marriage, they died 5 weeks aside in 1988.
Apparently, cheating on wives was commonplace within the astronaut scene. While the men of the Mercury Seven turned into celebrities, hundreds of girls would seek the attention of those astronauts. It got so bad, that the astronaut's wives even requested their docs for tranquilizers — just to psychologically take care of the fame and the whole lot that came with it.
"Yes, some of us did ask our doctors for a tranquilizer for a limited time, just to handle all the barrage of reporters and the neighbor’s predictions that there would be accidents. It was nerve-wracking and I don’t mind admitting we needed a little help now and then,” Jane Conrad told Lily Koppel. Other women turned to alcohol and smoking cigarettes as a way to relieve their anxieties. Not only were their husbands risking their lives to fly into space, but they weren't being faithful in the process. And all eyes were on them! Not a fun situation.
A large number of things modified when the Mercury Seven become a world-wide sensation. For example, Deke Slayton (played through Micah Stock) had to hide the truth that his wife Marge was in fact a divorcee (this type of factor was once scandalous back then). Gordon Cooper (Colin O'Donoghue) allegedly also cheated on his spouse, who left him as a result of it. For appearances, they got again in combination in order that Gordon looked extra wholesome for the media.
While this may change our perception of the famous astronauts we grew up to idolize, it doesn't alternate the truth that these men had been, in fact, heroic. At the tip of the day, it doesn't matter what activity you've got. We're all just human.
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