On the glittering surface, Consuelo Vanderbilt looked like she had it all. The beautiful heiress to the massive Vanderbilt wealth, her future had shone like a diamond from the moment she was born. But this American princess and “million dollar duchess” didn’t get a happy ending—she got an utter nightmare.

In certain echelons of New York society—the upper ones—the birth of Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1877 was akin to the coming of a messiah. The eldest child and only daughter of the main Vanderbilt heir William and his wife Alva, Consuelo was all the hopes of the Gilded Age of America rolled into one.

As such, the little heiress heralded a generation of beautiful creatures with pearls on their necks and gold in their veins; she was even named after her mother’s childhood best friend, the famous socialite Consuelo Yznaga. But all that glitters is very much not gold.

The sweet, stunning Consuelo was barely in her teen years when she began getting offers of marriage from almost every man who met her. But Consuelo was under her watchful mother Alva’s eye. She thought she could fool Alva, even clandestinely agreeing to marry the man who’d been secretly courting her—but she was so, so wrong.

Once Alva caught on to what was going on, she blocked the man from calling on Consuelo and even intercepted and destroyed letters from him. Heartbroken, Consuelo reluctantly went along with her mother’s plans for her to marry the Duke of Marlborough.

As she walked down the aisle, guests couldn’t help but notice the mournful sobs that emanated through the church. But if the wedding day was a nightmare, it was absolutely nothing compared to the honeymoon—when the Duke told her he was only marrying her for her money, and never intended to even try to form a relationship.

It was a crushing blow—yet still, was only the beginning of Consuelo’s heartbreaking story.