In 1961, Callaghan married fellow journalist Peter Jay, himself a child of political parents: Douglas Jay, Labour MP and president of the Board of Trade, and Margaret (Peggy) Jay, member of the Greater London Council.
Peter Jay was appointed ambassador to the United States by his friend David Owen, Foreign Secretary in her father's government, leading to accusations of nepotism.

While in the United States, she met journalist Carl Bernstein, who had helped expose Watergate, with whom she had a much-publicised extramarital relationship in 1979.
Bernstein's then-wife, Nora Ephron, fictionalised the story in her novel, Heartburn, in which the character of "Thelma" is a thinly disguised representation of Jay.
Peter Jay then had an affair with their nanny, fathering a child in the process (he originally denied paternity).
The Jays divorced in 1986 after 25 years of marriage, and she lived for a while with Robert Neild, a Cambridge economist.

In 1994, she married AIDS specialist Michael Adler,  who had been chair of the National AIDS Trust when she was its director.
She retained her surname from her first marriage.
She has three children: Tamsin, Alice and Patrick.
In 1961, Callaghan married fellow journalist Peter Jay, himself a child of political parents: Douglas Jay, Labour MP and president of the Board of Trade, and Margaret (Peggy) Jay, member of the Greater London Council. Peter Jay was appointed ambassador to the United States by his friend David Owen, Foreign Secretary in her father's government, leading to accusations of nepotism.
While in the United States, she met journalist Carl Bernstein, who had helped expose Watergate, with whom she had a much-publicised extramarital relationship in 1979. Bernstein's then-wife, Nora Ephron, fictionalised the story in her novel, Heartburn, in which the character of "Thelma" is a thinly disguised representation of Jay. Peter Jay then had an affair with their nanny, fathering a child in the process (he originally denied paternity). The Jays divorced in 1986 after 25 years of marriage, and she lived for a while with Robert Neild, a Cambridge economist.
In 1994, she married AIDS specialist Michael Adler,  who had been chair of the National AIDS Trust when she was its director. She retained her surname from her first marriage. She has three children: Tamsin, Alice and Patrick.
Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington