But politicians, especially those who create images of themselves as “wholesome”, are held to different standards. “Ma, ma, where’s my pa?” went the Republican jeer against Grover Cleveland, accused of fathering an illegitimate child. “Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha!” was the Democrats’ answer after he was elected. “There is a sense that public figures need to be above question,” Carter says. “If they can’t control their private lives, how can they be trusted with our governance?”

Hollywood, too, was once prudish about the Love Child, but its attitude evolved. Now “there is absolutely no stigma in Hollywood around having a love child,” says Dina Sansing, entertainment director for Us Weekly.