Monica Lewinsky Celebrates 25th Year Since Bill Clinton Affair

Apparently, Monica Lewinsky, who was infamously linked in an affair with former President Bill Clinton, is sharing what she has learned in a self-penned piece for Vanity Fair.

Lewinsky is reflecting on the past 25 years since her very public affair with Clinton. The activist and writer, 49, details what she has observed and learned in the quarter century that has passed since she was a White House intern.

“One thing everyone has in common is that we have all made mistakes. It’s inevitable. Get comfortable with the Art of the Mistake,” wrote Lewinsky, whose affair with Clinton, 76, made headlines on Jan. 21, 1998, and ultimately led to his impeachment.

“You cannot run away from your narrative,” she added in another section.

Lewinsky also notes one should chose their friends carefully, writing, “Twenty-five years ago I had one of the world’s worst friends: Linda ‘Judas, hold my beer’ Tripp.”

Lewinsky said, “Since I let go of my resentment and bitterness that surrounded Tripp’s betrayal, I feel at peace. It’s not lost on me how very fortunate I am to have been able to trust new people.”

Lewinsky also playfully teased about her past relationship with Clinton by saying, “As the years pass, one’s taste in partners gets better. (Wink.)”

“Lastly, I don’t know how to say this other than to be direct and insufferably corny: You can survive the unimaginable,” Lewinsky concluded her thoughts.

Back in 2021, Lewinsky chatted about her era-defining political scandal in the mid-’90s and how every aspect of her life was publicly examined and critiqued; including her physical appearance.

“We didn’t even have words like ‘fat shaming’ or ‘slut shaming’ then,” Lewinsky said. “It was incredibly painful.”

“I still don’t like having my photo taken professionally,” she continued. “Twenty-plus years on, there’s still a mental tape that holds some of those traumatic experiences of hearing people say awful things, seeing cartoons of myself and this idea that the only reason an actual relationship [with Clinton] could have been possible was if I were more attractive.”

“I already had self-esteem issues, and being the object of ridicule didn’t help,” added Lewinsky.

Lewinsky also explained, “For me, at 22 there was this combination of the awe of being at the White House, the awe of the presidency and the awe of this man who had an amazing energy and charisma was paying attention to me.”

“I was enamored with him, like many others,” she continued. “He had a charisma to him and it was a lethal charm, and I was intoxicated.”

Lewinsky admits that she no longer is expecting an apology from Clinton.

“If I had been asked five years ago, there would have been a part of me that needed something, that still wanted something. Not any kind of relationship, but a sense of closure or maybe understanding. And I feel incredibly grateful not to need any of that,” Lewinsky said.

However, Lewinsky did hope for a continued discussion, especially about the dynamics between men with power and those without it.

“As we all came to see, it wasn’t just about losing a job but about the power to be believed, the power to be inoculated from the press, the power to have others smear someone’s reputation in all the ways that work, the power to understand consequences having held many important jobs, where this was my first out of college,” she said.