Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bassette

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The actor playing Carolyn is very pretty but she has zero charm, charisma, or magnetism.

I don't get it. Carolyn famously had very dimensional, expensive- looking blonde hair. They dyed this actress's hair all one tone. And when she wears it down, it doesn't look healthy at all. Granted it took time for Carolyn to reach her desired shade of blonde, and I'm she they bleached this actress in one or two terrible sessions. But if this series is to be taken seriously at all, they would need to get the hair right. It was one of her trademarks.

Vent over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:John Jr. was the best-looking Kennedy in the family, imho. Also better looking than the Bouviers.

His grandfather Bouvier was VERY handsome as a young man. A drunk, of course he quickly lost his good looks. There is a resemblance.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/71424344074302349/

"Black Jack"? Yes, also has the dark handsome good looks.

Black Jack Bouvier must be one of the coolest, most badass names in history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actor playing Carolyn is very pretty but she has zero charm, charisma, or magnetism.

I don't get it. Carolyn famously had very dimensional, expensive- looking blonde hair. They dyed this actress's hair all one tone. And when she wears it down, it doesn't look healthy at all. Granted it took time for Carolyn to reach her desired shade of blonde, and I'm she they bleached this actress in one or two terrible sessions. But if this series is to be taken seriously at all, they would need to get the hair right. It was one of her trademarks.

Vent over.

Agree, the hair is terrible and central to CBK's iconic image and style. It looks like she did it herself and used a box of L'Oreal. They should have at least used extensions or a wig.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carolyn certainly isn't coming across as very likable, and is Darryl Hannah supposed to be a druggie or something? Good lord.

How isn’t Carolyn likable? Is she supposed to be super nice all the time? She seems like the typical woman working in fashion in the 90s. She’s working in an office, trying to get promoted, dating different men, having fun. She’s pretty, young, ambitious, works hard. I don’t understand what’s supposed to be unlikable about her.

I do think the Kennedys all come off as unlikable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I think Carolyn was a complicated person, and certainly flawed, but there are lots of stories about her warmth and kindness too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I haven't read it, but now I will. Thanks for the rec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I think Carolyn was a complicated person, and certainly flawed, but there are lots of stories about her warmth and kindness too.

I agree. All these outlandish stories about her don't seem to be from her inner circle. I don't know what to make of that CK model who claims they had an affair. He honestly seems unhinged. The truth is probably that she wasn't perfect but she wasn't this caricature that the darker anecdotes suggest. I'm sure many things were exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I think Carolyn was a complicated person, and certainly flawed, but there are lots of stories about her warmth and kindness too.

I agree. All these outlandish stories about her don't seem to be from her inner circle. I don't know what to make of that CK model who claims they had an affair. He honestly seems unhinged. The truth is probably that she wasn't perfect but she wasn't this caricature that the darker anecdotes suggest. I'm sure many things were exaggerated.

No, I think the CK model story is true. He really loved her, and apparently his dates check out.

I think George was an ambitious project that had very poor timing with a young marriage, and a bride who needed more care and support during that hard tradition. They might have been okay if hadn't been consumed with work at that time. Apparently she often felt like an afterthought, which is why she turned to a former fling for comfort. Not the best behavior, but John (the habitual cheater) was hardly perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I think Carolyn was a complicated person, and certainly flawed, but there are lots of stories about her warmth and kindness too.

I agree. All these outlandish stories about her don't seem to be from her inner circle. I don't know what to make of that CK model who claims they had an affair. He honestly seems unhinged. The truth is probably that she wasn't perfect but she wasn't this caricature that the darker anecdotes suggest. I'm sure many things were exaggerated.

She seems relatively normal to me and well liked from interviews of people who worked with her at Calvin Klein (including Klein and Rodriquez), went to college with her, and Carole. Who is perfect? Everyone is multidimensional.Personally, I would never be able to marry someone famous like Kennedy and all that baggage, the press, the intense family expectations, all of it. I would hate it. I suspect she came to hate it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Carolyn have any female friends who were not John's friends? You never hear anything about them. I've only heard of one gay male friend, when she first started dating John.

I don't think you would commonly hear of non-famous friends, especially in the days before social media. She was very close to Carole Radziwill, who was married to Anthony, John's terminally ill cousin. John and Carolyn would have helped Carole in the aftermath of Anthony's death, and instead Carole and Anthony attended their memorial service weeks before he died. That always stuck with me- how John ended up dying before his cousin.

Carole's book, What Remains, is really good if you have not read it. It's respectful and very loving. She presents Carolyn as a warm and caring person who consistently showed up for Anthony when he was sick.

I think Carolyn was a complicated person, and certainly flawed, but there are lots of stories about her warmth and kindness too.

I agree. All these outlandish stories about her don't seem to be from her inner circle. I don't know what to make of that CK model who claims they had an affair. He honestly seems unhinged. The truth is probably that she wasn't perfect but she wasn't this caricature that the darker anecdotes suggest. I'm sure many things were exaggerated.

No, I think the CK model story is true. He really loved her, and apparently his dates check out.

I think George was an ambitious project that had very poor timing with a young marriage, and a bride who needed more care and support during that hard tradition. They might have been okay if hadn't been consumed with work at that time. Apparently she often felt like an afterthought, which is why she turned to a former fling for comfort. Not the best behavior, but John (the habitual cheater) was hardly perfect.

As bad as it sounds, I think that if the tragic crash had not happened, he likely would have been divorced within a couple years and George would have folded during that time as well.

[Anonymous]

It's ironic that his family were snobs about "educational pedigree" because from all accounts, she actually seemed to be sharper and harder-working than him. She just didn't have the Kennedy name to get her into an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was not a love story.

Can you elaborate on this?

NP. They fought a lot and his hubris resulted in her death and sibling's death.

Srsly. Her poor parents lost two daughters in a plane crash that should never have happened. He had no business flying a tiny plane in bad weather.

No one tells a Kennedy "no"

Carolyn and Lauren should have refused to get on that plane. So sad.

As non pilots, they could but have understood the dangers.

She probably trusted her husband (and was but the first woman brought down by doing so).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get the romanticizing of this couple all these years later. Yes, he was a Kennedy and they were both good looking people and it’s sad they died young (along with Lauren Bessette) but isn’t it pretty well established that their marriage was rocky at best? She was a rampant cheater (maybe he was too) and a druggie… not seeing this as some epic love story.

I agree, there is nothing noteworthy about them as individuals or as a couple. They were not interesting at all and their lives were frivolous.

They were good looking and stylish, died tragically and young and he was the son of a president. People felt they knew JFK Jr and then could wonder, what if? about him. But in reality, I think they would have divorced and he would have had a series of failures in his endeavors, not amounting to much. But at the same time also protected by the Kennedy myth. He embodied it more than anyone in his generation. (I don't believe in the Kennedy myth myself.) I think the interest comes from their looks and the fact that they died tragically. He would be about 65 now if he had lived.

I think their marriage was on the edge but might have endured, if they followed up on moving out of the city where she could have more privacy and have kids. George was going under, so hard to know what his next professional endeavor would have been. Some white shoe law firm or other, probably. Don't think he was smart enough to make it in politics, and Carolyn couldn't handle yet more scrutiny. I agree that they were unlikely to accomplish much beyond being attractive, stylish, and rich.

What about 2026 makes you think politicians need to be smart?

(They need to be telegenic and malleable)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know nothing about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, but I never liked that in photos of the couple, she always sort of stood a little behind JFK Jr and looked doen almost demurely (Meghan Markle used the same stance in the early years of her relationship with Harry). It always seemed fake/posed and like she didn’t view herself an equal.

It was well-known that she hated being photographed. There was a video of her with JFK Jr being hounded by photographers in a parking garage and she just completely shut down. She found the attention so unbearable that she didn't even want to live in NYC after they were married.

I don't get why being photographed is such a big deal. Put on sunglasses and headphones and just walk quickly by.

It is a horrible life.