John McCain And Nancy Reagan Drifted Apart After The Presidential Candidate’s Divorce

When Nancy Reagan endorsed presidential candidate John McCain back in March, all she said was, “Ronnie [Ronald Reagan] and I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed. Well, obviously this is the nominee of the party.” And that was it. Today, the LA Times writes that this mild endorsement might be the result of John McCain’s divorce from first wife Carol in 1980. Apparently, the Reagans were very fond of Carol, and even high-powered splits result in a division of friends. McCain may or may not have started dating Cindy before he and Carol were separated (there seems to be some discrepancies with the dates), and his marriage to Cindy within weeks of his divorce (they applied for a marriage license before McCain’s divorce had gone through) upset many Republicans. [LA Times]