The Tell Me Lies series finale left my roommates and I with a Stephen-sized hole in our house, but Hulu was quick to fill that void with the release of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Our new weekly obsession has shifted from the realistic fiction of college drama to the fictionalized dramatization following the Kennedys real-life experiences. After months of torment from the Tell Me Lies toxic friend group, we now get to relish Carolyn and John’s romantic love story in chic, New York-in-the-90s style. But is Love Story accurate?
Now that we are shifting to nonfiction, we need to acknowledge just how much is actually “based on true events.” The series follows the romantic relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. (played by Paul Anthony Kelly) — the son of President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy — and Carolyn Bessette (played by Sarah Pidgeon), along with insights into their individual personal lives.
The first thing the Love Story crew got right was the casting. Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon capture the handsome charm and enviable elegance of both John and Carolyn, respectively. Not only do they embody the aura of their characters brilliantly, they also look eerily similar. Honorable mentions in casting go to Grace Gummer as JFK Jr.’s sister, Caroline Kennedy, and Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy.
In addition to casting realistic lookalikes, the show has stuck to many real-life plot points. For starters, the show opens with Carolyn reluctantly agreeing to attend a family wedding, John being upset about her reluctance, and the couple — along with Carolyn’s older sister, Lauren — boarding the infamous private plane.
The show then flashes back seven years earlier, and starts at the beginning of their relationship. John is established as a privileged, debaucherous bachelor who is unhappy with his public image, while Carolyn is a mysterious, laidback girl boss climbing the ranks as a fashion associate at Calvin Klein. These specific characterizations are all true. JFK Jr. was actually crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1988 — a point the show deliberately jests at — and Carolyn quickly did become second-in-command to Calvin himself. Their personalities are not the only facets of their relationship accurately depicted by the show. Here are some other moments and their truth value.
Dressing Room Meet-Cute
Just as depicted in the show, Carolyn did have her first intimate moments with John when fitting him for a suit at Calvin Klein, and successfully sent him home with several new items and her phone number.
Author Elizabeth Beller wrote in her 2024 book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, “Calvin — along with his wife, Kelly Klein, and … assistant MJ Bettenhausen — decided it should be [Carolyn], the most effervescent person on the sales floor, who would show John the selection of clothing.”
John put his new suits and her phone number to use a few days later to set up their first date.
There is some speculation from friends of the couple that they met at a fundraiser. EP of the show Brad Simpson told USA Today that they received “competing narratives,” so they went with the “most common” one, which was the fundraiser.
Bad First Date
According to Calvin Klein’s assistant, MJ Bettenhausen, their early encounter was at a gala John invited Carolyn to. Bettenhausen told Beller for her 2024 book that Carolyn mistook the woman next John as his date, or that actually was his date, and when he invited her to an after party, she declined saying she was “meeting people.” The series captures all this and more, as the characters converse intently with longing glances and dreamy eyes.
Jackie Kennedy vs. Daryl Hannah
In the first few episodes, it becomes abundantly clear that Jackie Kennedy doesn’t approve of John’s on-again-off-again relationship with Daryl Hannah. In fact, she won’t even sit through a meal with the actress. However, her disdain is dramatized for the series.
“It wasn’t like she hated Daryl at all,” Jackie’s friend, Jim Hart, said in JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by Liz McNeil and RoseMarie Terenzio. “She just didn’t want her son marrying an actress — it kind of was that simple. There was no great animosity, but she was always talking about, ‘What do you think of Daryl? Do you think that’s right for John?’”
JFK Jr. flew with Hannah’s dog’s ashes
Love Story did include and accurately illustrate the tragic death of Daryl’s dog, who was hit by a taxi while on a walk with John. As per Daryl’s request, he flew the ashes to Los Angeles for a funeral. In the meantime, his own mother fell ill.
“So he goes out there to bury the dog,” JFK Jr.’s friend Sasha Chermayeff recalled in An Intimate Oral Biography. “And while he’s out there, his mom has a dramatic turn for the worse. He was deeply resentful that Daryl dragged him out there to attend a funeral for her dog when his mother was dying of cancer.”
Those are just some of the truths and exaggerations from the series so far.