Inside Carole Radziwill’s close bond with John F Kennedy Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette as the Real Housewives star is shut out of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story

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Ryan Murphy’s new show, ‘Love Story,’ has brought the heartbreaking story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, to a wider audience.

This nine-episode drama on FX and Hulu tells the story of John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon), charting their romance from their first encounter at a party through to the tragic plane crash that took their lives, along with Lauren Bessette, on July 16, 1999.

Kennedy and two others died when the small plane he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard.

Despite the show focusing on their passionate relationship, one person involved at the time hasn’t been included in the story.

Carole Radziwill, known from The Real Housewives of New York City, experienced a devastating loss at just 36 years old. She lost her best friends, John and Carolyn, and her husband, Anthony, all within three weeks of each other.

Carole was married to Anthony Radziwill, who was related to JFK Jr. and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. They were good friends with John and Carolyn Kennedy, and the two men served as best men at each other’s weddings.

Speaking in an interview in 2005 she described their death’s as ‘soul-crushing’. 

She said: ‘We were all unbelievably close. Their deaths brought me to my knees.’

Carole doesn’t appear as a character in Ryan’s version of the story. According to a source who spoke with Rob Shuter, Carole was involved in the events, but not a key part of the main plot. The story focuses on John and Carolyn, and Carole was never meant to be a central figure.

One of the show’s creators explained that not everyone who was at the events could be featured. The main focus needs to be on the romantic relationship – that’s what will really draw viewers in.

It appears Carole had a much closer relationship with the couple than simply being a dinner companion. She considered them two of her dearest friends, and after they passed away, she wrote that she felt she had lost everything.

According to a source in Hollywood, being excluded from the major new account of the Kennedy family is particularly upsetting for those who have always emphasized their connection to it.

Carole began her career in Manhattan, starting as an unpaid intern and eventually becoming a producer at ABC through hard work and dedication.

It was there that she met Anthony, John’s cousin, who was an associate producer at the company. 

After dating for two years, Carole met the family. In 1992, she and her partner rented a summer house in the Hamptons with John and Carolyn.

In a 2005 interview with People magazine, Carole shared that throughout the ten years she knew him, he never referred to himself as “John F Kennedy Jr.” He simply went by “John Kennedy.”

I’ll never forget meeting Carolyn! She had this incredible way of making you feel instantly comfortable. She literally walked right up to me, like we’d known each other forever, and actually asked if I had a spare toothbrush! It was so unexpected, but it perfectly summed up her warm and friendly personality.

Carole and Anthony’s marriage was tainted by Anthony’s long battle with testicular cancer. 

I’ve seen firsthand how health journeys can be so unpredictable. This gentleman originally received a diagnosis back in 1989 and thankfully responded well to treatment, going into remission. But life threw him a curveball – new tumors appeared just before his wedding in 1994. It’s a reminder that even when things seem to be improving, staying vigilant about your health is key.

He received a diagnosis of fibrosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer. For the next five years, Carole was his main caregiver, supporting him until he passed away in August 1999 – just a month after a tragic plane crash.

Even though Anthony was sick, both he and Carole continued working. Anthony kept making documentaries, and Carole started a job as a producer for a news channel in New York.

And throughout his cancer battle, Carole described John and Carolyn as their biggest supporters. 

In a 2005 interview with The Telegraph, Carole described how John and Anthony interacted as children, saying John was always the one who could cheer Anthony up with his jokes.

He coped with his cancer by continuing to use humor. He believed it would lift his spirits, and it actually worked.

He also shared his fear that if he stopped making jokes, Anthony would realize how serious things were and lose all hope, potentially leading to his death.

Just three weeks before Anthony passed away, a devastating accident took the lives of his parents, John and Carolyn, when their plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Carole remembered talking to Carolyn while they were preparing for takeoff, and at the time, everything seemed okay.

John was a seasoned pilot and had flown this route before, but a sudden fog disoriented him, and the plane ultimately crashed.

In a 2017 interview with People magazine, Carole shared that she received a late-night phone call on the night John and his wife died. The call was from a friend of John’s, known as ‘Pinky,’ who was waiting for them at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.

Carole contacted air traffic control and discovered the flight plan hadn’t been received. She then reported it missing to the Coast Guard around 2:30 a.m.

The moment I actually told the Coast Guard and filed the missing persons report, it hit me – this wasn’t a drill. It was a truly devastating experience.

Before her autobiography came out in 2005, Carole shared details about the passing of John and Carolyn in a special article for The Daily Mail.

She remembered their last conversation, where they’d briefly discussed having dinner on Sunday. It was a short phone call while John was getting ready to fly out of a small airport, and they hadn’t gotten much further in the conversation.

Anthony and I were going to visit them at their house on Martha’s Vineyard in two days. We had planned to have grilled steaks and peach pie on July 18th.

She spoke about how close the four friends were, mentioning their future travel plans and describing Carolyn as the one who held the group together.

Reflecting on their death she penned: ‘I lost everything that night, I wasn’t the only one.

Everyone experienced a loss, and it felt deeply personal for those directly affected. But it was also a loss felt on a larger scale – 1999 marked the close of a century and, in many ways, the end of a simpler time we hadn’t fully realized we were enjoying.

Looking back on their time together, she said Carolyn was the person who held everyone together, especially during a tough summer for the four of them.

Everyone hoped things would improve for George magazine. They also hoped that some time together at the beach, following a family wedding in Hyannis, would help smooth things over and resolve some recent problems. The idea was to take a breath, find the strength to get through each day, and be ready for whatever came next.

Just three weeks after the plane crash, Anthony passed away in Carole’s arms at a hospital in New York.

I’ll never forget a line from her memoir, ‘What Remains.’ She described sitting with him, listening to his heartbeat until it was barely a whisper, and then… just gone. It’s a moment that always stays with me, so raw and heartbreaking. It perfectly captures the fragility of life and the pain of loss, and it’s a phrase I often think about.

After Anthony passed away, Carole published her memoir in 2005, and it became a New York Times Best Seller, remaining on the list for 12 weeks.

One of my favorite things I did was starting the ‘Lunch Dates’ column for Glamour Magazine back in 2006. It was such a fun way to connect with fascinating people! Each month, I’d have lunch with a different celebrity – I remember great conversations with people like Alec Baldwin and even Prince Andrew. It really gave me a unique perspective on so many different worlds.

She became a cast member on The Real Housewives of New York City in 2011, staying with the show through its tenth season, which concluded in July 2018.

Carole unexpectedly became the focus of attention as her friendship with Bethany Frankel fell apart, and fans watched the situation unfold.

During the show, fans watched as she began a relationship with chef Adam Kenworthy, who was significantly younger than her. However, they ended things in 2017 after dating for three years.

Carole left The Real Housewives after five seasons in 2018, following a very public disagreement with the show’s producer, Andy Cohen.

Radziwill explained that she was eager to refocus on her original career path, stating she wanted to get back to journalism and producing content.

I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone watching, especially since you’ve all been so supportive, encouraging, and kind.

I used to be very interested in reality TV, but over time that’s changed, and I’m now concentrating on television and writing that feel more comfortable and fitting for my personality. I’ll always look back on this whole experience with fondness, laughter, and honesty.

As a longtime fan, I was really saddened to hear Carole explain why she left the show. She shared that she constantly faced problems during filming, to the point where she felt she had no choice but to leave. What bothered her most, and what she openly accused the show’s producers of, was playing favorites – giving certain cast members special treatment that others didn’t receive.

During the tenth season reunion of The Real Housewives, Radziwill and Andy Cohen had a disagreement. Radziwill accused Cohen of being inaccurate when he stated that she and Frankel had spent the season constantly criticizing each other.

Following criticism from Cohen, who compared her actions to those of Donald Trump, she explained her position on the issue. Shortly after, she revealed she would be leaving the show.

Fans were surprised to learn this week that the actor will be back for the show’s 16th season, appearing in a guest role.

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2026-03-08 16:38