Joe and Jill Biden are once again facing renewed scrutiny over long-running allegations about how their relationship began — this time following the sudden death of Jill Biden’s ex-husband’s wife after a reported domestic dispute in Delaware.
The controversy resurfaced after Linda Stevenson, 64, the wife of Jill Biden’s former husband Bill Stevenson, was found unresponsive inside the couple’s Delaware home late Sunday night. New Castle County Police confirmed officers were dispatched to the residence around 11:15 p.m. on December 28 following a domestic dispute call.
When officers arrived, Linda was found unresponsive in the living room. Life-saving measures were attempted, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said the case has since been turned over to the Criminal Investigations Unit. No charges have been filed, and officials have not released a cause of death.
The tragedy has reignited public attention on Bill Stevenson’s long-standing claims that Jill Biden’s relationship with Joe Biden began while she was still married to him — an accusation the Bidens have repeatedly denied.
The dispute over the Bidens’ origin story first gained national attention during the 2020 presidential campaign, when Jill Biden appeared in a campaign advertisement describing how she met Joe Biden two years after he lost his first wife, Neilia, and daughter Naomi in a devastating 1972 car accident.
In the ad, Jill said she met Joe after the tragedy, while Joe recounted seeing her photo and asking his brother for her phone number. According to their version of events, the couple had their first date in March 1975.
Bill Stevenson, however, has insisted that story is false.
In previous interviews, Stevenson claimed Jill met Joe before the fatal accident while working on his Senate campaign and that their alleged affair contributed to the breakdown of his marriage. He said the two appeared together at multiple campaign fundraisers held at The Stone Balloon, a popular Newark, Delaware music venue he owned at the time.
Stevenson and Jill Biden were married in February 1970 and lived in Newark while Jill completed her degree at the University of Delaware. Their marriage deteriorated by 1974, and they separated that year. Their divorce was finalized in May 1975.
Stevenson has said he remembers events differently from the Bidens’ public timeline and has accused them of fabricating their story to make it more palatable to voters. He has also claimed hundreds of people in Delaware witnessed Jill and Joe together during the 1972 campaign season.
Despite the renewed attention, the Bidens have consistently dismissed Stevenson’s claims as false and self-serving.
“These claims are fictitious, seemingly to sell and promote a book,” a spokesperson for the Bidens previously said. “The relationship of Joe and Jill Biden is well documented.”
The spokesperson added that Jill Biden separated from her first husband in the fall of 1974 and moved out of their marital home before beginning a relationship with Joe Biden. According to the statement, the couple had their first date in March 1975 and married in June 1977.
As investigators continue looking into Linda Stevenson’s death, authorities have not indicated whether the incident is connected in any way to the resurfacing political controversy. For now, police say the investigation remains ongoing.
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