The saying “Behind every great man, there’s an even better woman” has a disturbing meaning when used to describe some of history’s worst people.
Women who stood next to dictators like Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, and Francisco Franco often became caught up in the chaotic tides of ambition, ideology, and oppression.
Some actively supported their partners’ governments, while others lived in the shadow of choices that would hurt whole countries.
Some people were lured to the idea of power, and being close to powerful people changed who they were and how they acted. Others lived in quiet obedience, stuck in the dark shadows of men who used violence and fear to change history.
Their experiences remind us that the worst parts of history are rarely authored by one person. These collaborations often showed how complicated people were behind the public tragedies.
Clara Petacci (Mistress of Benito Mussolini)
hter of the Pope’s personal doctor and shared a deep, enduring connection with Mussolini that set her apart from the others. In 1945, as the Italian resistance brought Mussolini’s regime to an end, Petacci stayed by his side, refusing to leave him. Both were executed by gunshot, and their bodies were taken to Milan, where they were publicly displayed at a petrol station. Hung upside down, their remains became the focus of a vengeful crowd, who gathered to unleash their fury on the pair. The grim spectacle marked the violent conclusion of Mussolini’s rule.
Carmen Polo (wife of Francisco Franco)
The 1st Lady of Meirás, María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, was married to Francisco Franco, who was Spain’s military dictator for a lengthy time.
Carmen Polo played a big part in keeping Franco’s authoritarian government in power, even if it silenced or forced tens of thousands of political opponents to disappear. She was fiercely loyal and very involved in his life, so he rarely got to go anywhere without her.
Carmen Polo’s influence went beyond just being a friend; she was always on Franco’s side, no matter how controversial his policies or decisions were. H
Her uncompromising loyalty to him and his government made her a key player in his government. She still got a big governmental pension even after Franco died in 1975.
Nadezhda Alliluyeva (wife of Joseph Stalin)
Nadezhda Alliluyeva saw Joseph Stalin for the first time when she was 10 years old. Her father, Sergei Alliluyev, gave Stalin a place to stay after he escaped from Siberian exile.
Alliluyeva was 18 and Stalin was 42 when they got married in 1919. But their marriage was always tense, and they fought a lot.
Alliluyeva also had serious mental health problems that got worse over time. These personal problems led to her terrible suicide in 1932.
Eva Braun (wife of A. Hitler)
Eva Braun, who was Adolf Hitler’s wife, started dating him in 1929 when she was 19 years old. At the time, Hitler was 42 years old, which was 23 years older than her.
People say that Braun tried to kill himself twice throughout their 16-year relationship. People typically see these events not as attempts to get away from Hitler, but as spectacular acts meant to get his attention and strengthen their friendship.
Even though they were close, Hitler supposedly kept Braun out of the public view because he was afraid that being with a companion would make him less appealing to women.
Braun and Hitler got married in the Führerbunker in 1945, when the Allies were closing in on Berlin. The couple killed themselves in a room in the bunker not long after their wedding.
Sajida Talfah (wife of Saddam Hussein)
Sajida Talfah was Saddam Hussein’s wife and biological cousin. She had a big role in the personal life of Iraq’s former dictator. Their families set up their marriage in 1963, and it was the start of a relationship that would last for decades.
Hussein married a second wife, Samira Shahbandar, in 1986, even though he was still married to Talfah. They had been together for more than 20 years at that point. Talfah and their son, Uday Hussein, were both quite angry about this choice.
In 1988, things got out of hand when Uday killed Kamel Hana Gegeo, a trusted bodyguard of Saddam Hussein. Uday said Gegeo was helping Hussein and Shahbandar get together.
Some people think that Talfah may have asked for this violent deed to happen, although there is no solid proof that this is true.
After Hussein’s government fell in 2003 and he was killed in 2006, Sajida Talfah stopped being in the public eye. Reports say that she ran away to Qatar, where she currently lives in relative solitude, away from the public eye.
Ko Young Hee (wife of Kim Jong-il)
Ko Young Hee, also spelled Ko Young-hui, was the wife of Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, and the mother of Kim Jong-un, the current leader.
There isn’t much public information on her because she is said to be at the bottom of North Korea’s strict social system.
People still think she had a lot of power over her husband, both in private and in politics.
Reports say that she acted as a counselor, giving Kim Jong-il advice on how to run the country and helping him make some decisions.
In the early 2000s, Ko Young Hee’s health started to get worse, and she died in 2004 from problems related to breast cancer.
Safia Farkash (wife of Muammar Gaddafi
Safia Farkash was the wife of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s controversial leader, for a long period. She was also the mother of seven of his eight children.
Farkash was a nurse at the time and took care of Gaddafi while he was recovering from appendicitis, which is said to be when their relationship began.
Farkash mostly stayed out of the public glare under Gaddafi’s rule. Even though she was the dictator’s wife, she lived a quiet and secluded life.
But after Gaddafi was killed in a horrific way during Libya’s civil war in 2011, she became a vociferous supporter, calling for full inquiries into the circumstances of his death.
Amal al-Sadah (wife of Osama bin Laden)
Amal al-Sadah was not the sole wife of Osama bin Laden, but she is said to have been his favorite. People think she stayed with him during the attacks on September 11, 2001, and stayed devoted to him until he died in 2011.
There are reports that al-Sadah was hurt during the U.S. Navy SEAL attack that killed bin Laden. She was shot in the leg.
After the raid, they think that al-Sadah has been residing in Pakistan, where she is being held since her health is getting worse.
Khieu Ponnary (wife of Pol Pot)
Khieu Ponnary was a member of the infamous “Cambodian Gang of Four,” which was based on the Chinese Communist Party’s inner circle.
Her sister, Khieu Thirith, her husband, Ieng Sary, and Ponnary’s own husband, Saloth Sar, who later became known as Pol Pot, were also there.
It’s not known what Ponnary’s specific role was in her husband’s government after he took over Cambodia in 1975, but she did have a number of important political roles during this period.
By 1978, Ponnary’s mental health was getting worse because she was so paranoid that she thought she had schizophrenia.
This is why Pol Pot divorced her and married someone else. Soon after that, Pol Pot retreated to the bush, where he spent his last years under house imprisonment.
The Cambodian government gave Ponnary, her sister, and her brother-in-law amnesty in 1996, which meant they couldn’t be charged with a crime. She lived with Thirith and Ieng Sary for the rest of her life and died in 2003.
Mae Capone (wife of Al Capone)
Mae Capone, the wife of the infamous Chicago mobster Al Capone, had a life that was very different from her husband’s violent and well-known one.
People were very afraid of Al Capone since he was linked to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and other violent crimes. But Mae stayed mostly out of the spotlight, living a calm, typical life.
Three weeks after their only child, Sonny Capone, was born, she married Al Capone in 1918. Even though it was an unusual time, Mae fully embraced her duties as a loving mother and dedicated wife.
She was known for being devoted to her family, and she kept going to church with her kid on a regular basis. She also stayed loyal to Al even when he was in prison.
Mae visited her husband often while he was in prison, including during his time at the infamous Alcatraz. She stood with him till the end.
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