Joan Bennett Kennedy, former wife of Senator Ted Kennedy, has passed away at the age of 89.
Raised in an affluent, suburban New York family, Joan was introduced to Ted Kennedy by his sister in 1957 and despite her concerns about rushing into marriage, the couple was wed one year later.
The pressures of political and social life, not to mention three miscarriages, led to alcohol abuse but Joan made a full recovery. After her and Ted's divorce in 1983, Joan became a proponent of mental health and substance abuse recovery.