The turning point in Rivera's personal reputation remains his 1934 betrayal with Frida’s younger sister, Cristina Kahlo. Rivera had conducted dozens of affairs throughout his life, including relationships with artist Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska (Marevna), with whom he fathered a daughter, and actresses, models, and patrons across North America and Europe. Kahlo, who also took male and female lovers, had adapted to an unconventional, sexually fluid arrangement. Cristina, however, was Frida's closest confidante and primary physical caregiver.
The affair exposed the central pathology of Rivera's personality: an absolute, narcissistic refusal to moderate his impulses, regardless of collateral damage. He did not pursue Cristina out of malice toward Frida, but rather out of an uninhibited hedonism that treated women as natural extensions of his creative appetite. The fallout was catastrophic. Kahlo cut off her signature long hair, abandoned the couple's conjoined studio homes in San Ángel, and moved into an apartment in central Mexico City. The betrayal produced Kahlo’s devastating painting A Few Small Nips (Unos cuantos piquetitos), an explicit commentary on feminine murder and domestic callousness. Though they eventually reconciled, the romantic contract of their marriage was permanently broken.
