Meet US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s ex, patent lawyer Kevin Noonan: the high school sweethearts married after college – he brought drugs to their wedding night – but divorced after 7 years
After marrying young, Sotomayor’s long work hours and success took a toll on her marriage; she and Noonan divorced amicably and each went on to have a highly successful career in law
While her politics and legal opinions have become clear to all, how much do we know about the associate justice’s personal life? Long before ascending to America’s highest court, Sotomayor married her high school sweetheart, Kevin Noonan – though they’re now divorced. Here’s what you need to know about the ex-husband of America’s pioneering justice.
He was her high school sweetheart
Although not much is known about their relationship, it’s been widely reported that Sotomayor and Noonan were high school sweethearts at New York’s Cardinal Spellman High School. After graduating as valedictorian in 1972, Sotomayor attended Princeton University on a full scholarship, and married Noonan in the summer of 1976 before starting at Yale Law School.
He brought drugs to their wedding night
In her memoir, My Beloved World, Sotomayor described how on their wedding night in 1976, Noonan “produced a bag of Quaaludes that was a gift from his friends”. Sotomayor “insisted he flush the pills down the toilet”.
Widely referred to as “disco biscuits” in the 1970s, Quaaludes became popular because of “their ability to diminish sexual inhibitions and promote relaxation”. Following the release of Sotomayor’s memoir, Noonan said the drugs were a joke. “It was a long time ago, and a funny story. For the record, neither one of us used Quaaludes.”
They divorced after seven years
