He Loved To Flirt

Light Horse Harry Lee's prospective father-in-law opposed him when he announced his plans to wed Mary Anna Custis, since Light Horse Harry Lee had had financial difficulty. The Custis family finally gave in. Additionally, Mary Anna Custis was the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington.

Lee was a devoted husband by all accounts, but he also enjoyed the company of attractive young ladies. He even told his wife stories of his interactions with other people of the fairer sex. He cheerfully wrote to his wife Mary, after having the opportunity to entertain the exquisite Harriett Talcott, who was the focus of Lee's particular attention, "How I did swagger about..." How you would have rejoiced in my enjoyment. " By all accounts and depictions of the time, Lee's wife was a plain, if not downtrodden, lady; maybe this reality inspired Lee to win the hearts of more alluring ladies. Lee once told a friend that attractive women caused his heart to "open to them, like a flower to the light."