Mad Men: Don Draper & Pregnancy Scares
The Ken & Barbie Drapers
In Season 2, Episode 3 of Mad Men, “The Benefactor,” we meet the Drapers through the eyes of Jimmy Barrett, a brash comedian. “Ken and Barbie,” he calls them. It’s a sharp metaphor for Don and Betty Draper. Their life looks perfect, but it’s all surface-level. What lies beneath is far from polished. This season sets the stage for Don’s affair with Jimmy’s wife, Bobbie Barrett. It’s just one of the betrayals that unravel this seemingly perfect marriage.
By the time Betty throws Don out for good, we’ve seen him go from one affair to another, like some kind of privileged nomad. There’s Joy (The Jet Set), who floats through Don’s life with her wealthy, wandering clan. And then, as he often does, Don returns to Betty, but by then it’s clear that no reconciliation will ever be a clean slate for the Drapers.
In the following season, there’s a revealing moment. Someone casually asks Don and Betty how long they’ve been together. They both answer at the same time, but with different numbers. This awkward moment hints at a deeper disconnect. The show doesn’t address it again, but it speaks volumes about their differing views on their marriage.
Did Betty & Don have a premarital pregnancy?
Some fans suggest that the reason for this discrepancy is that Betty and Don got pregnant before they married. Don might count their relationship from that moment, while Betty only sees it starting from the wedding day. It would explain a lot about their dynamic. Don has always been driven by obligation rather than genuine connection. He controls his narrative, rewriting his history to fit the image of success he wants.
Look back to when Don first tells Anna Draper that he’s met Betty. He looks fresh-faced, hopeful, even younger. It’s a rare moment of sincerity. He believes in the fairytale—the perfect wife, the rising career, the home in the suburbs. If Betty was pregnant, it would make sense that Don rushed into marriage. But his choice wasn’t purely out of love.
Don, a man who hides his secrets well, never tells Anna about his affair with Bobbie. Nor does he admit that Betty threw him out for cheating. Even when talking to the one person who knows his real identity, Don edits his story. If Betty was pregnant, he likely hid that too, maybe even from himself.
This theory adds weight to Don and Betty’s marriage. Betty yearns for the idealized life she was promised. She clings to the idea of a picture-perfect wedding day. For her, that’s when their life began. Don, on the other hand, might see it starting when Betty became pregnant. The wedding was just a formality—a way to legitimize the family he suddenly found himself creating.
This brings up an interesting contradiction. Throughout Mad Men, Don engages in countless affairs. He takes risks, sleeping with clients, neighbors, even his daughter’s teacher. Yet, there’s never a mention of a pregnancy scare. Given the situations he places himself in, it’s surprising that an unplanned child never appears. This absence suggests that Don is careful, despite his recklessness.
So, how does this fit with the theory that Betty was pregnant before they married? It’s possible that in his younger years, Don wasn’t as meticulous. He was still Dick Whitman, pretending to be Don Draper. In the whirlwind of meeting Betty and trying to create a perfect life, he may have made a mistake—one that led to their rushed marriage.
Don’s history with pregnancy scares
This theory ties back to Don’s complicated relationship with sex. Growing up in a brothel, surrounded by women who treated him with disdain, his views on sex are shaped by trauma and control. His own birth was the result of a “mistake,” and it’s clear that Don spends his life avoiding that same fate. His philandering is a way to exert control, keeping emotional intimacy at arm’s length. Yet, despite his best efforts, he may have slipped up with Betty, leading to the very situation he feared most.
Ultimately, the question of how long Don and Betty have been together is about more than just time. It reveals how differently they see their marriage and the choices they’ve made. For Don, their relationship began when Betty became pregnant. That’s when his carefully constructed life started to form. For Betty, it’s the wedding day that counts—the day she stepped into the role of the perfect wife, the perfect mother. But beneath it all, their marriage is built on shaky ground, full of secrets and compromises.
As with everything in Mad Men, the truth lies hidden beneath the surface. The stories Don and Betty tell themselves help them navigate their complicated lives, but the cracks are always there. And so, we’re left to wonder—how long have they really been together, and how much of their life together is just another story?
This post was inspired by a discussion on the r/MadMen subreddit: “Does Don always carry protection?“
If you’re a fan, you might enjoy my other Mad Men posts.