While the public revelation of an affair is never easy, the fallout is doubled when the news is accompanied by the untimely disappearance of the girlfriend (or boyfriend) in question. The classic example of the career-killing dead paramour is probably Chandra Levy, a Federal Bureau of Prisons intern who had an affair with Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.). In 2001, Levy's remains were found in Rock Creek Park. Although police later determined that Condit (above) was not responsible for her death, the exposure of the affair cost him his re-election in 2002.
But not every dead paramour story ends as badly as Condit's. For example, while the 1969 death of Mary Jo Kopechne effectively put the kibosh on Teddy Kennedy's presidential aspirations, the Massachusetts senator was able to hold onto his position for another 40 years. Similarly, the scandal surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe, who was allegedly John F. Kennedy's paramour, never attached itself to the popular president.