Political Connections
Bryan and his family were in fact so close to the Clintons that Bill reportedly phoned his wife, Katherine, from Air Force One when he heard that Bryan was ending their marriage to run off with the Vogue editor. Not that Bill had much room to judge.
Nevertheless, Wintour's relationship with Bryan opened doors to the political playing field, in which she was beginning to show interest. One source said at the time their affair became public, "Shelby was this real Type-A player kind of guy, and he gave her access to a whole different world."
Indeed, in 1998, Wintour put Hillary Clinton on the cover of her famous glossy just as her husband's impeachment was kicking off, and as we now all know, Wintour became a very influential political donor in her own right.