The True Story Behind Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

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Ryan Murphy is known for creating shows based on real-life events. His American Crime Story series previously covered the O.J. Simpson trial, the murder of Gianni Versace, and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Now, Murphy is producing Love Story for FX, a series created by Connor Hines, which tells the story of John F. Kennedy Jr. (played by Paul Kelly) and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (played by Sarah Pidgeon), whose relationship was heavily publicized.

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, and it all started, tragically, with that flight in 1999. But the show beautifully takes you back to how they actually met, in 1992. Carolyn was really making a name for herself at Calvin Klein – she just had this natural flair and was so good with people. John, though, seemed to be at a bit of a crossroads. He’d been People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in ’88, but by ’92, things weren’t going so well with his job as a lawyer, and the press often made fun of him. It’s a poignant contrast, really, seeing where they both were at that time.

The first three episodes of FX’s Love Story show how John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette didn’t begin dating until a couple of years after meeting at a Calvin Klein party in 1992. The series initially focuses on Kennedy’s complicated relationship with actress Daryl Hannah (played by Dree Hemingway), which his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Naomi Watts), apparently didn’t support. (Interestingly, Hannah’s stepmother said Onassis was actually very kind to Daryl.) The third episode ends with the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and shortly after, Kennedy and Hannah’s relationship is over.

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette started dating in 1994, and the public was immediately captivated by them. Many Americans saw them as a modern-day equivalent of his parents, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who were a beloved couple in the 1960s.

The romance between JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

After dating for around a year, John F. Kennedy Jr. proposed to Carolyn Bessette in July 1995 while they were in Martha’s Vineyard. According to his former assistant, RoseMarie Terenzio, he proposed while they were on a fishing boat, telling Carolyn he wanted her to be his life partner and that life would be better together. She took three weeks to accept his proposal.

On February 25, 1996, John and Carolyn were spotted having a heated argument during a walk in Central Park. The incident was captured on camera and quickly became national news, even earning an eight-page spread in the New York Daily News. The argument escalated to a physical altercation when John tried to remove a ring from Carolyn’s finger, and she responded by jumping on his back. The video footage was widely analyzed, turning a private moment of conflict into a major media event.

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette married on September 21, 1996, after seven months of dating. The wedding was both grand and very private, held at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia. According to Carole Radziwill, a friend of the couple and former cast member of Real Housewives of New York, the wedding was remarkably discreet— “one of the best-kept secrets of modern time,” as she wrote for the Daily Mail. Guests were required to show a special coin—a rare Indian nickel—to gain entry, or they would be turned away. Estimates of the guest list vary, with Radziwill stating 32 guests and People magazine reporting 40, but it’s clear the wedding allowed the couple to escape the constant public attention.

Following their wedding, the couple, particularly Carolyn Bessette, longed for a quieter life now that they were married. She deliberately avoided speaking to the paparazzi who constantly waited outside her home and followed her everywhere. This refusal to engage with them led to negative media coverage, with tabloids labeling her as cold, harsh, and even accusing her of being controlling. The more she sought privacy, the more intensely the tabloids attacked her.

According to The List, actor Robert Kennedy once asked the paparazzi for privacy for his wife outside their New York City apartment, saying any space they could give her as she adjusted to something new would be appreciated. Despite their strong feelings for each other, the couple faced challenges in their relationship, and arguments were common, like in many partnerships. Ariel Paredes, whose grandmother worked for Jacqueline Kennedy, told People that they “loved hard and fought hard,” but were genuinely in love.

On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette were flying to a family wedding in Martha’s Vineyard. They were traveling in a small Piper Saratoga plane piloted by JFK Jr. The Washington Post reported that the plane suddenly dropped from 2,200 feet to 1,100 feet in just 14 seconds before crashing. Sadly, all three – Kennedy, age 38, Carolyn, age 33, and Lauren, age 34 – perished in the accident.

On July 22nd, their ashes were scattered at sea from the USS Briscoe, a Navy ship, near Martha’s Vineyard. The next day, a memorial service was held at the Church of St. Thomas More in New York City.

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2026-02-13 01:06