Before Joe Biden was accused by multiple women of inappropriate touching and dubbed 'Creepy Uncle Joe', his wife Jill has written in her upcoming memoir, that public displays of affection like hugs, kisses and rubs have always been the norm for the former Vice President and his family.
'He was always holding my hand, putting his arm around me, or brushing the hair from my face,' when they began dating, the former Second Lady writes in her 'deeply personal' memoir Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself due out next month and exclusively obtained by DailyMailTV.
She admits that being thrust into a family of 'huggers' made her feel 'strange and uncomfortable', writing that Joe and his two young sons 'never wanted to miss a chance to hold a hand, wrap their arms around each other, or give a kiss'.
She says that as an introvert, she 'sometimes found all that affection draining', but knew that it was the death of his first wife Neilia and their baby daughter Naomi that gave the family an understanding of 'how precious every second could be', which was displayed by 'constantly touching' and 'being connected to each other'.
But it's those same displays of affection that have led to eight women coming forward with their accounts of how Biden made them uncomfortable by squeezing their shoulders, touching their thighs, smelling their hair or kissing their head.
Jill Biden says her husband Joe has been handsy since they first began dating, she reveals in her new memoir. Biden is pictured kissing her forehead after announcing his bid for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination
Jill details in her new book how his overly affectionate family made her feel 'strange and uncomfortable', but ultimately said of Joe, 'He connects with people so easily and he never hesitates when a stranger wants to tell him something personal or give him a hug'. He's pictured touching his wife's shoulder as she introduces him in 2014
DailyMailTV obtained a copy of former Second Lady's 'deeply personal' memoir Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself out May 7
'I realized that physical affection played an important role in his entire family,' Jill writes. 'Val [Joe's sister] couldn't walk by the boys without reaching out to touch their shoulders or brush their heads. Their parents stopped by often to shower the boys with kisses.'
Jills tells of Joe's nighttime ritual with the boys where he'd gently scratch their backs and arms as they settled in to sleep. 'With your fingernails!', the boys would insist.
'He did the same at Mass as a way of keeping them still,' she writes.
That affection, as many of his supporters and defenders have said, is what makes Joe the politician he is.
Jill says: 'He connects with people so easily and he never hesitates when a stranger wants to tell him something personal or give him a hug.
'When Joe loves, he loves hard; he's all in.'
She details how their first date was set up over a cold call from Joe.
'How did you get this number?' were the first words she said to then-Delaware Senator Biden in 1975.
A confident Joe said he got her number from his brother Frank after he saw Jill on a poster at the Wilmington, Delaware, airport.
'That's the kind of girl I'd like to date,' the widower and father-of two told his brother when he saw Jill's photo.
Jill writes that she had a date that night and Joe boldly asked her to cancel it.
She did, they got to know each other over dinner and a movie and would meet up consecutively for three nights.
Biden, who is now mulling a White House run, has addressed making his accusers feel uncomfortable and vowed to be 'more mindful' in the future about respecting personal space.
He released a two-minute video addressing the claims.
'I want to talk about gestures of support and encouragement that I've made to some women and some men and I've made them uncomfortable,' he said in the video.
Jill writes that Joe and his two young sons Hunter and Beau 'never wanted to miss a chance to hold a hand, wrap their arms around each other, or give a kiss' after the death of their mother and his first wife Neilia and daughter Naomi (pictured before their deaths at Joe's 30th birthday party)
'I always try to be in my career, always tried to make a human connection. That's my responsibility, I think. I shake hands, I hug people. I grab men and
