Monica Lewinsky: Bill Clinton and I never hooked up in the Oval Office

Monica Lewinsky says hanky-panky with then-President Bill Clinton never took place in the Oval Office.

In another clip from The Clinton Affair docuseries, the former intern, who has reinvented herself as a #MeToo advocate and anti-bullying activist, talks about her hookups with the married commander-in-chief, which led to his 1998 impeachment. While they routinely met in the White House, sexual relations took place outside the iconic office of the president — but nearby.

“No monkey business happened in the Oval Office proper,” Lewinsky, now 45, said. “We would talk — and maybe flirt here and there — but no sexual activity happened in the Oval Office.”

So where did it happen? “He [had] a private personal office that is off to the side that consists of a back study, a dining room, a little pantry and a bathroom. That’s where every intimate encounter took place.”

The pair would get privacy outside the Oval Office in Clinton’s study, dining room or pantry. (Image: The Clinton Affair/A&E)
The pair would get privacy outside the Oval Office in Clinton’s study, dining room or pantry. (Image: The Clinton Affair/A&E)

Lewinsky, whose stained dress worn during one visit was later used as evidence against the president, said that as things went on, “We got to know each other better and the encounters blossomed into a relationship. At that point, he was in touch or I saw him almost weekly.” At those meet-ups, he would sometimes give her gifts (a T-shirt, poetry book, brooch, hat pin and stuffed animal). She would also get late-night phone calls.

Monica Lewinsky says she and Bill Clinton never hooked up in the Oval Office — but it wasn’t far from there. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Monica Lewinsky says she and Bill Clinton never hooked up in the Oval Office — but it wasn’t far from there. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

And Lewinsky said that she and Clinton, who was married to Hillary, would often discuss keeping their relationship a secret. “There were always ways that we talked about it: ‘How do we be careful?’ ‘Of course you’re going to deny this.’ We were both cautious — but not cautious enough,” she said.

In previous clips from the docuseries, Lewinsky — who was just one of 50 people interviewed for the six-part series, which debuts Sunday — also talked about her first impression of Clinton (“an old guy with wiry hair”) but said she was quickly taken by his charisma. She also that when the affair was exposed and she faced prison time, she contemplated suicide.


In a piece for Vanity Fair earlier this week, she also addressed Clinton’s recent comments about how he shouldn’t have to apologize personally to Lewinsky, despite being in a position of power over her. “So, what feels more important to me than whether I am owed or deserving of a personal apology is my belief that Bill Clinton should want to apologize,” she wrote. “I’m less disappointed by him, and more disappointed for him. He would be a better man for it … and we, in turn, a better society.”

On Good Morning America on Thursday, the docuseries director Blair Foster said Lewinsky “suffered disproportionally for what she did. She’s very remorseful. There are no heroes in this story.”

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