S32E2: The Greatest Sex Scandal You've Never Heard Of | The Beecher-Tilton Scandal

Trashy Divorces

Hemlock Creatives

History, Comedy

4.5 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We live in an era where scandals often fail to make much of a dent in the reputations of the rich and famous, and today's story illustrates that this sad situation isn't really new. In 1870s Brooklyn, a famous preacher named Henry Ward Beecher had a problem in his private life. He was having affairs. Lots and lots of affairs. But it was his affair with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of his close friend Ted, that would scandalize the nation - without ever delivering any consequences to Henry himself. Want early, ad-free episodes, regular Dumpster Dives, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Want a personalized message for someone in your life? Check us out on Cameo! To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to info@amplitudemediapartners.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to trashy divorces, everybody's favorite good podcast about bad relationships.
0:07.2	My name is Alicia and Stacey this week we've decided that current events are just a wee bit too much.
0:13.8	Yeah, oh boy. Hello, everyone. Stacy here. And today we've decided to direct your attention to an
0:19.8	absolutely bonzo sex scandal from the latter
0:22.7	half of the 19th century. This one has everything, a larger than life religious leader with way
0:28.4	too many mistresses. Isn't one mistress too many for a religious leader? You think so, right? But no,
0:36.2	it turns out that, to borrow a phrase, when you're a star,
0:39.6	yeah. So this is the story not just of Henry Ward Beecher, or as we call him, Horn Dog Henry.
0:45.9	No, horn dog Henry. But also of Ted Tilton, husband of Elizabeth, a long-term mistress of Henry's,
0:52.9	who was also one of Ted's closest friends.
0:56.3	We originally recorded this all the way back in 2020, another period where avoiding the news
1:01.2	was good advice, and this is the first entry in a Patreon series called The Church of the Flaming
1:06.4	dumpster fire. Y'all can rely on us for being a good podcast about bad relationships because we honestly cover the gamut.
1:14.5	I can't wait to hear about Horndog Henry again.
1:17.0	Stacey, we got to go, go, go.
1:23.1	Folks, folks, everybody settle down.
1:27.2	Take your seats. We got Sister Stacyacey coming up with a sermon on the trashy dumpster fire of the Church of Hypocracy.
1:36.4	We do indeed. And first of all, hello to our $25 patrons. I am blown away that you're willing to support trashy divorces at that level,
1:45.2	and I cannot thank you enough for it.
1:47.7	Second that, I'm in, I'm in.
1:50.3	From the back, louder from the back.
1:52.2	I'll just have to say, I love you, with a series about religious hypocrites.
	...

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