Bill Stevenson

Bill Stevenson is an American businessman best known as the first husband of Jill Biden, the current First Lady of the United States.

Stevenson was a former college football player. In February 1970, he married Jill Jacobs, who then took the name Jill Stevenson. Their marriage lasted until 1975, when they divorced. During their marriage, Stevenson opened The Stone Balloon in Newark, Delaware, near the University of Delaware. The venue quickly became one of the most successful college bars in the country and remains a part of his business legacy.

Decades later, Stevenson attracted media attention during the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign when he publicly disputed the common narrative about how Joe and Jill Biden met. In August 2020, he claimed that Jill and Joe Biden had known each other since 1972 and that their relationship began as an affair in 1974, before his marriage to Jill had formally ended. Jill Biden’s spokesperson strongly denied these claims, describing them as fictitious and promotional for a book. According to Jill Biden’s account, she and Stevenson separated irreconcilably in the fall of 1974, moved apart, and she began dating Joe Biden in March 1975. Jill and Joe Biden married in June 1977.

Although Bill Stevenson is not a public political figure, his connection to Jill Biden and his role in the creation of The Stone Balloon make him a notable figure in both business and public discussions related to the Biden family.