If you’re on the side of social media that I am, then you’d be familiar with FX’s new series, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.
Streaming on Disney+ with weekly episodes still coming out, the series has become a massive hit across social media. The show’s premise is to share the iconic couple’s chemistry-driven relationship and how it came to be in just nine episodes. The show stars actors Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette, and the resemblance to JFK Jr and Bessette made fans and viewers very happy.
The show also shares sideline stories about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, played by Naomi Watts and Caroline Kennedy, played by Grace Gummer.
If you aren’t yet familiar with the couple, here’s what you need to know going into the show.
John and Carolyn were one of the it couples of the 20th century. John F. Kennedy Jr. was the son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He became a lawyer and notably ran a magazine called George. The magazine brought popular culture and politics together, with its cover images depicting celebrities in politically influenced outfits. Some celebrities who were on the cover of George included Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, and Cindy Crawford.
Carolyn Bessette worked in fashion, notably as a publicist at Calvin Klein. She was known for her incredible, chic minimal fashion sense. She kept quiet in public, and there are only a couple of videos of her actually speaking to the paparazzi. Despite the paparazzi’s negative portrayal of Carolyn, her friends said she was warm, inviting, and generous.
Sadly, on July 16, 1999, JFK Jr, Carolyn Bessette and her sister, Lauren Bessette, all tragically died in a plane accident near Martha’s Vineyard. While on their way to Rory Kennedy’s wedding, their plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean as a result of Kennedy’s eyesight becoming disoriented because of the thick fog they were travelling through.
Aside from their tragic death, the couple were most known for their public appearances, fashion choices, and their secret wedding. The wedding took place on Sept.21, 1996, at the First African Baptist Church in Georgia, with 40 people in attendance. No one knew the wedding was happening, which is why they chose such a secluded location to tie the knot.
Bassette wore a custom wedding dress from one of her close friends, Narciso Rodriguez. The dress was known to be revolutionary in the fashion industry.
From their infamous fight in Central Park to the side-by-side outfit comparisons to real-life photographs of the two, Executive Producer Ryan Murphy and his team wrote and executed it well.
Murphy said the show is inspired by a book written by Elizabeth Beller titled Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. The book explored Bessette-Kennedy’s life and relationship with JFK Jr.
The show has caused quite a stir on social media. Previous fans of the couple and newcomers alike are loving the new series and the fashion, with many women taking inspiration from Carolyn’s iconic headbands and sunglasses — and young men are also starting to dress like Kennedy as well.
The show shares the ups and downs in the famous couple’s relationship. It isn’t just about romance; it also covers the trials of being in the public eye, family issues, relationship issues, and the tabloid culture of the 90s.
The Kennedys are always a family that society reverts to, and I’m not mad about that. In my opinion, this new show shares the relationship between Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr exceptionally well. From sharing iconic scenes from their lives to scenes the public never saw, I think it’s a great homage to the two of them.
I definitely know what I’ll be rewatching for the foreseeable future!