Joan Kennedy, first wife of Sen. Edward Kennedy, has died

BOSTON (AP) — Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who endured a troubled marriage marked by family tragedies, her husband’s infidelities and her own decades-long struggles with alcoholism and mental health, died on Wednesday. She was 89.

The former Joan Bennett, one of the last remaining members of a family generation that included President John F. Kennedy, was a model and classically-trained pianist when she married Ted Kennedy in 1958.

Their lives would change unimaginably over the next decade and a half. Brother-in-law John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960 and assassinated three years later. Brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy served as attorney general under JFK, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1964 and assassinated while seeking the presidency.

Her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate and became among the country’s most respected legislators despite initial misgivings that he was capitalizing on his family connections. But Ted Kennedy also lived through scandals of his own making. In 1969, the car he was driving plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing his young female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne.

Kennedy, who swam to safety and waited hours before alerting police, later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. Chappaquiddick shadowed him for the rest of his life, weighing against his own chances for the presidency.

Joan Kennedy had three children with her husband, but also had miscarriages, including one shortly after the Chappaquiddick accident. She stood by her husband through the scandal, but their estrangement was nearly impossible to hide by the time of his unsuccessful effort to defeat President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Democratic primaries. They had been separated by then, and would later divorce. One bumper sticker from the campaign read “Vote for Jimmy Carter, Free Joan Kennedy.”

Her death comes about a year after Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, died at the age of 96, having raised their 11 children after he was assassinated, and remaining dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter.

Virginia Joan Bennett was born into a prominent Bronxville, N.Y., family and as a teen she worked as a model in TV ads. She was a classmate of Jean Kennedy, the future senator’s sister, at Manhattanville College, where her exceptional beauty caught Ted Kennedy’s eye when he visited the campus for a building dedication in 1957.

They married a year later, but Joan Kennedy struggled from the start to fit in to the high-powered family.

“Joan was shy and a really reserved person, and the Kennedys aren’t,” Adam Clymer, author of “Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography” said in an 2005 interview with the AP.

Her love of piano would be a trademark for much of her life. She was known for opening her husband's campaign rallies with a piano serenade and, after they divorced, touring with orchestras around the world. Her family said she would combine her masterful playing with a message about the transformational potential of the arts and the need for equitable arts education.

In a 1992 Associated Press interview, she recalled playing piano for brother-in-law Bobby when he ran for president in 1968. “He took me with him and encouraged me,” she said. “He had a theme, ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ the Woody Guthrie song. I’d play that on the piano and everybody would come in, feeling really great about everything.”

“It seems like a long time ago, but it’s part of my memories,” she said, while promoting a book she wrote, which was a guide to appreciating classical music.

She also talked in the interview about how music helped her get through some difficult times, including the deaths of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, when her son Ted Jr. lost his leg to cancer and her separation and divorce from Ted Kennedy.

“I do advise listening to music when you're in grief,” she said. “Music has give me a lot of courage to carry on.”

In a statement, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island praised his mother for her courage and talent.

“Besides being a loving mother, talented musician, and instrumental partner to my father as he launched his successful political career, Mom was a power of example to millions of people with mental health conditions,” his statement said. “She will be missed not just by the entire Kennedy Family, but by the arts community in the City of Boston and the many people whose lives that she touched.”

She also became one of the first women to publicly acknowledge her struggles with alcoholism and depression.

“I will always admire my mother for the way that she faced up to her challenges with grace, courage, humility, and honesty,” Ted Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “She taught me how to be more truthful with myself and how careful listening is a more powerful communication skill than public speaking.”

After Chappaquiddick, her drinking worsened. A series of drunken driving arrests led to stays in alcohol treatment programs. Then in 2005, a passerby found her passed out on a Boston sidewalk in the rain, and she was hospitalized with a concussion and broken shoulder. Her children intervened, with Ted Jr. obtaining a court-ordered guardianship for his mother’s care.

Maria Shriver praised her cousins for doing “a great job caring for her, respecting her privacy, and loving her.”

“She courageously shared what it was like to lose a child, get divorced from a famous man, and carry on. Her life was challenging, but she persevered,” the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver posted in a eulogy for her aunt. “As a young girl, I marveled at her grace, her beauty, her elegance. As a woman, I respected her grit, her resilience, her perseverance.”

Joan Kennedy is survived by her two sons, nine grandchildren, a great-grandchild and nearly 30 nieces and nephews. Her daughter, Kara, died in 2011.

FILE - Joan Kennedy listens in Boston, Mass., on Monday, Sept. 23, 1974, as her husband, Massachusetts and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, announces he will not run for President or vice president in 1976. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, center, with his wife, Joan Kennedy, and Russia's Chief of International Relations Vasily Vysotin, third from left, at the airport, Thursday, April 18, 1974, Moscow, Russia. The men on the right and left of Mr. Kennedy are unidentified. (AP Photo/BY, File)

FILE - Joan Kennedy arrives for the premiere of a movie at the Museum of Science in Boston, Oct. 1, 1984. (AP Photo/Sean Kardon, file)

FILE - Senator Edward Kennedy and Wife Joan Kennedy leave West Palm Beach airport for the drive to his father's home and vacation at Palm Beach. . (AP Photo/FILE)

FILE - Joan Kennedy smiles following an interview in Boston, Dec. 5, 1979. (AP Photo/Dave Tenenbaum, file)

Justin Fields is heading to the bench and Tyrod Taylor is replacing him as the New York Jets' starting quarterback.

Coach Aaron Glenn decided to play Taylor over the embattled Fields at Baltimore on Sunday, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

Glenn said last week he would evaluate all positions over the weekend, leaving the door open for a change at quarterback. And he decided to make the switch to Taylor, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce the move, which was first reported by The Athletic.

Glenn told the team of his decision during a meeting Monday morning, when the Jets returned to work after a few days off.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna go into too much detail,” tight end Jeremy Ruckert said. “Coach talked to us as a team today and told us that we’re gonna get ready to go play this weekend. So just leave all questions for that towards him.”

The Jets (2-8) are coming off a 27-14 loss at New England last Thursday night. Fields’ subpar play has been a major reason for the struggles of the passing offense, which ranks last in the NFL with 139.9 yards per game — 20 fewer than 31st-ranked Cleveland.

Fields was 15 of 26 for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots, but he had only 23 yards passing at halftime. Dropped passes, including two by Adonai Mitchell in his Jets debut, contributed to the lack of production. That performance came after Fields was 6 of 11 for just 54 yards with a TD and an interception in New York’s 27-20 win over Cleveland.

“That's my guy,” said Ruckert, who also was a teammate of Fields at Ohio State. "It stinks to be a part of the (demotion). I take it personal, all the hate, all the talking that goes toward him. I take it personal because I’m one of the guys that takes the field with him. And I wish we could do a better job to help him out, but he’s just a true professional, like I say every day. Not going to change how I feel about him.

“I'm sure he'll be ready to go when his time's come.”

Glenn, who was not scheduled to speak to reporters again until Wednesday, has been tight-lipped on his quarterback situation and refused the last few weeks to announce who his starter would be.

It appeared likely the 36-year-old Taylor would take over under center against Cincinnati on Oct. 26, but the veteran backup was ruled out with a knee injury and didn't travel with the team. Instead, Fields thrived after what he said was an “emotional” week that included owner Woody Johnson publicly criticizing him, leading the Jets to their first win of the season, 39-38 against the Bengals.

He was 21 of 32 for 244 yards and a touchdown in that victory, along with 31 yards on 11 rushes. He also threw a pass and had a run for 2-point conversions. The Jets hoped that was a turning point-type game for Fields.

But the struggles reappeared in the next two games — and the calls from frustrated fans to bench Fields grew louder. Glenn said last Friday that Fields did some good things at New England but also acknowledged he missed a few opportunities to make plays.

“I think you hear that quite a bit when you get these quarterback changes is, ‘Man, I’m trying to get a spark for the team,’” Glenn said. “But to me, it’s more or less, man, I’m trying to make the best decision to give our guys a chance to win because to me, a spark is really a short-term deal. And I don’t know if this is what other coaches’ decisions are, but, man, I want to make a decision to give us a chance to win.”

The 26-year-old Fields started nine of the first 10 games this season, missing one because of a concussion, after signing a two-year, $40 million contract in the offseason. The deal included $30 million in guaranteed money, a sign the Jets were optimistic Fields could thrive in new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand's system after failed stints in Chicago — where he was a first-round pick in 2021 — and last year in Pittsburgh.

Fields was mostly underwhelming during training camp, but he was solid in the season-opening loss against Pittsburgh when he threw for 218 yards and a touchdown and ran for two scores. But he was inconsistent over the next several games and threw for less than 55 yards in four starts.

For the season, Fields has passed for 1,259 yards — an average of just 140 yards per game — with seven touchdowns and one interception. He is the team's second-leading rusher behind Breece Hall with 383 yards and his four rushing TDs lead the Jets.

The game at Baltimore will mark the 60th NFL start of Taylor's 15-year career. He was 26 of 36 for 197 yards and two TDs with one interception in his lone start this season, a 29-27 loss at Tampa Bay. Taylor most recently played on Oct. 19 against Carolina, when Fields was benched at halftime. Taylor finished 10 of 22 for 126 yards with two INTs in the 13-6 loss.

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New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields fumbles the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

New York Jets' Tyrod Taylor warms up ahead of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)