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Spoilers below.
In the years before his marriage, John F. Kennedy Jr. was considered one of the most eligible bachelors of his era—if notthemost eligible bachelor. When he wed Carolyn Bessette in 1996, the pair became a source of enormous fascination: There was a sense that, together, they formed a perfect couple. That image was shattered in 1999 when the pair died in a tragic plane crash alongside Carolyn's sister Lauren.
FX's new fictionalized drama series,Love Story,recounts the couple's seven-year relationship, with Paul Anthony Kelly starring as John and Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn. The show traces John's career in magazines and Carolyn's in fashion; their courtship; their marriage; and their eventual deaths. The supporting cast includes Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy, and Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein.
But what doesLove Storyget right? And what does the series leave out? Here's everything you need to know about the real-life events that inspired some ofLove Story's key moments.
John and Carolyn's First Meeting
InLove Story, we see John and Carolyn meet at a New York City fundraiser, introduced by Carolyn's boss, Calvin Klein. The real story of their first encounter is less clear: Some friendsrecallthem meeting when John came to Calvin Klein for a fitting in 1992, whileothersremember them meeting at a party. As John wasdatingactressDaryl Hannahat the time, he and Carolyn didn't begin dating seriously until 1994, following the death of Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
John's Bar Exam
John's arc in the first episode ofLove Storyis fueled by the humiliating headlines written about him after he failed the New York Bar Exam not once but twice. The real-life situation was just as painful, as theNew York Postdid indeed run a now-legendary story titled "The Hunk Flunks… Again."
Carolyn's Job at Calvin Klein
On their first date inLove Story, Carolyn informs John how she got her job at Calvin Klein. As she explains, she worked at a Calvin Klein store in Boston after college graduation, and she so impressed the company higher-ups that they recruited her to interview for a job at the company headquarters. This story is accurate to whatThe New York Timeswrote about Carolyn's real-life career trajectory in 1996.
Part of Carolyn's allure was her ability to work with celebrities. In the first episode, she impresses Calvin Klein when she skillfully styles Annette Bening for an event. It's unclear whether this exact scene really took place, butThe New York Timesreported that Bening was indeed one of the stars that Carolyn dressed while she worked for Calvin Klein.
John's MagazineGeorge
One of John's biggest achievements was creating and running George. The magazine, whichlaunched in 1995, covered both politics and popular culture in a witty manner that was considered unique for the time. The first issue featuredCindy Crawford dressed as George Washington, a portrait that became an iconic image of the era. In the first episode ofLove Story, we see John and his business partner Michael Berman (Michael Nathanson) meet with potential investors at the New York City restaurant Michael's, which was, in fact, a top spot formedia executivesat the time.
The Kate Moss Headshot
It was indeed a 1993 Calvin Klein perfume campaign thatelectrifiedKate Moss's career. But whether it was actually Carolyn who fished her headshot out of a pile, as happens in the show, is unclear.
The Pool Party
Carolyn and John run into each other at a party for the bookPools, which was written by Kelly Klein, Calvin's wife. It's not known whether the pair actually saw each other at this event, but the setting itself is fictionalized in the show. While thereal partythat John attended was thrown at the New York Athletic Club,Love Storyshot itat the iconic—and aptly named—midtown restaurant The Pool.
Carolyn and Michael Bergin's Relationship
The third episode ofLove Storyshows Carolyn and model Michael Bergin (Noah Fernley) looking up at a billboard of his Calvin Klein underwear campaign. The real Bergin did actually make a splash with such abillboard, and he did have arelationshipwith Carolyn, which he explored in his 2004 bookThe Other Man: A Love Story.
John's Park Mugging
As Carolyn and John sit on a park bench in episode 3, he tells her a story about when he was 15 years old and a man mugged him in the park. The anecdote establishes the fact that John's mother encouraged his Secret Service agents to let him roam freely. As theNew York Timesreported in 1974, John was, in fact, robbed in Central Park when he was 13.
Jackie Kennedy Onassis's Death
The episode "America's Widow" follows the Kennedy family after Jackie Kennedy Onassis is diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and eventuallydiesin 1994. The episode includes details such as Jackie receiving last rites shortly before her death, which is not something that's been reported on publicly. We do, however, watch John step outside of the building—just as he did in real life—andspeakto the crowd of reporters standing outside. "She was surrounded by her friends and her family and her books and the people and the things that she loved, and she did it in her own way," he said.
Calvin Klein's Paper Clips
In episode 4, "I Love You," we see Carolyn nervously straighten a row of black paper clips prior to Calvin Klein's arrival at the office. This detail is accurate to the real Klein—asWomenswear Dailyreported in 2004, the only paper clips the designer allowed in the office were black ones.
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Auction
Also in "I Love You," John and his sister, Caroline, catalogue their mother's possessions after deciding to sell some of her belongings at auction. The real-life Sotheby's sale of"The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis"was held over four days in April 1996 and was one of the most famous auctions of all time. Among the pieces sold were President John F. Kennedy's White House rocking chair, whichwentfor $453,500, and the first lady's engagement ring from Aristotle Onassis, which waspurchasedfor $2,587,500. Caroline says the sale is necessary to cover their $34 million in inheritance taxes, which isn't quite accurate.$34 millionwas, in reality, the total amount brought in by the auction, and it's unlikely the tax bill and the proceeds were both exactly $34 million.
Jackie's Swimming Ring (and Carolyn's Engagement Ring)
When Caroline and John are going through their mother's things in episode 4, she points out what she calls Jackie's "swimming ring." The idea, Caroline explains, was that she switched to wearing this ring when she went swimming to avoid losing her wedding and engagement rings. At the end of the episode John looks at the ring again and then puts it in his pocket. In episode 5, he proposes to Carolyn with the ring.
The swimming ring was first publicly referenced inWhat Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Loveby Carole Radziwill, whose late husband, Anthony, was Jackie's nephew. She said that Jackie did indeed have an emerald and diamond band that she called her swimming ring. But unlike in the show, Carolyn's actual engagement ring, Radziwill says, was a recreation of Jackie's ring, not the actual piece.
The Letter
While John is playing touch football in the park in episode 4, he finds an anonymous letter left in his gym bag, one that makes nasty accusations about Carolyn's behavior and character. John asks Carolyn about the contents of the letter and she storms out.
This story hassomebasis in reality. In RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil's bookJFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, John's friend Brian Steel explains that he did ask around about Carolyn on John's behalf, and reported negative stories back to his friend. As Steel shared, "[John] went out on a date or two with Carolyn, and he's like, 'I want you to find out as much as you can about Carolyn—I know you know people, like, you know, nightclub people, restaurateurs...I know you know people that went to college with her.' And so I found out as much as I could about her and not all of it was good. I told him all of it. She was a club girl, and she dated a lot of people."
The Boat Pictures
After John and Carolyn reconcile during episode 4, we see them enjoy a day out on his boat in the waters around New York City. The trip seems private and intimate, but when Carolyn returns to work, she sees paparazzi pictures on the front page of theNew York Post.
In reality, the boating trip that wasphotographedtook place in Martha's Vineyard, not New York, and there doesn't seem to have been a front-page story on Bessette in thePostat that time.
The Visit to Hyannis Port
In episode 5, "Battery Park," we see Carolyn's first visit to the Kennedy summer home on Cape Cod, The couple spend a weekend there, hosted by John's aunt Ethel, but the occasion becomes deeply stressful for Carolyn. New as she is to the Kenny family gatherings, she's unprepared for family customs—like discussing politics during dinner or signing up for a breakfast shift—but enjoys playing with the younger relatives.
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It's true that Carolyn was seen making many trips to Cape Cod during her relationship with John, but there were few credible detailed accounts of acrimony during these visits.
The Press Conference
In "Battery Park," we see John plan for a big conference that will announce his new magazineGeorgeand unveil the first cover. In the episode, Carolyn and John have been arguing, and she chooses not to attend the event. This reflects reality: Carolyn also avoided the September 1995 event, according toRadziwill.
The Park Fight
When the real-life John and Carolyn got into an intense argument in Battery Park in February 1996, the paparazzi were there to film it. The fight turned physical, and images were published in theNational Enquirerand theNew York Daily News, which headlined the story "Sunday in the Park with theGeorgeEditor."
Love Storyreplicates these events in episode 5, "Battery Park." Although there's no way to know exactly what Carolyn and John said to each other during this fight—which happened several months after the launch ofGeorgeand several months before their wedding—Love Storydefinitely got the outfits and the setting of the real scene right: Carolyn's sweater and jacket and John's shorts and henley perfectly match what they were wearing in thephotosfrom that day.
The Proposal
In "Battery Park," John proposes to Carolyn while on a boat in Massachusetts. In the show, he says that fishing is better with a partner—and he gives her his mother's swimming ring.
RoseMarie Terenzio, the real JFK Jr.'s former assistant, toldPeoplethat the actual proposal did, in fact, take place on a boat. "He went into this thing about how everything's better with a partner, not just fishing but life," Terenzio recalled, asLove Storyreflects in its fictionalized dialogue between John and Carolyn.
The Rehearsal Dinner
In episode 6, "The Wedding,"Love Storydepicts John and Carolyn hosting their rehearsal dinner and reception on Cumberland Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia. This is true to life: The couple did celebrate their nuptials on the tiny island, at the Greyfield Inn, a former Carnegie family home.
The episode also depicts Carolyn's mother, Ann Messina Freeman, going off-book during her toast at the rehearsal dinner. This speech was likely largely fictionalized, but there is some apparent truth within it. AsJFK Jr: An Intimate Oral Biographydescribes, Ann did give a toast during the dinner, and Radziwill—wife to Anthony Radziwill, John's best man—told the biography's authors that "it was sort of a cautionary tale. Something like, 'I hope my daughter has the strength to handle all of this.'"
The Wedding
AsLove Storypainstakingly re-creates, John and Carolyn's candlelit wedding ceremony was held at Cumberland Island's First African Baptist Church, where a small number of guests—less than 50—filled the chapel's pews. According toPeople, John's cousin, Anthony Radziwill, served as his best man, while his sister, Caroline, was Carolyn's maid of honor. Caroline's children, Rose and Tatiana Schlossberg, were flower girls, while her son, Jack Schlossberg, was the couple's ring bearer.
Carolyn wore a now-famous silk-crepe slip dress designed by Narciso Rodriguez, a look she accessorized with silk tulle gloves, Manolo Blahnik shoes, a veil, and a clip that had once belonged to John's mother, Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
According to writer Sunita Kumar Nair, who wroteCBK: A Life in Fashion, Carolyn did arrive late to the church, asLove Storydepicts. Her dress had been in need of last-minute alterations.
John's Speech to the Paparazzi
In episode 7, "Obsession," John and Carolyn return from their honeymoon, and she expresses her nervousness about walking onto the street where a crowd of reporters had gathered. In both the show and real life, John stepped out ahead of her to speak to the press. "This is a big change for anyone, and for a private citizen even more so," he said, according to aLos Angeles Timesreport. "I ask that you give Carolyn all the privacy and room you can." Just as in the episode, Carolyn stepped out in a camel-colored pencil skirt and black top.
John'sMurphy BrownCameo
Also in episode 7, Carolyn and John discuss anappearancehe made on the popular sitcomMurphy Brown. In reality, that episode aired on September 18, 1995, which was before John and Carolyn's wedding. John plays himself and makes a visit to Murphy's office carrying a copy ofGeorge."John, hi! Oh, I guess the lawyer thing didn't work out," Murphy (Candice Bergen) joked in the episode. "That's a tough break."
Carolyn's Job Interview
A particularly sadLove Storymoment comes in episode 7, when Carolyn excitedly prepares for a job interview with Ralph Lauren. It's a position she's qualified for, and she seems happy about the possibility of a new job. But when she comes down to the building lobby after the interview, a huge crowd of reporters are waiting for her. She realizes that the hysteria that follows her everywhere would make it too difficult for anyone to hire her. There don't appear to be any public reports of Carolyn interviewing at Ralph Lauren in real life, but it wouldn't be surprising: Her close friend Hamilton South worked at the company.
Anthony's Cancer
Midway through "Obsession," John and Anthony are together in John's apartment when Anthony tells John that his cancer has spread to his lungs. This is sadly true to life. Anthony Radziwill, a television journalist, was diagnosed with sarcoma ahead of his wedding in 1994, his wife Carole Radziwill wrote in her bookWhat Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love. Anthony, who was John's best friend, was sick for five years and died shortly after John, Carolyn, and Lauren Bessette's tragic plane crash.
Carolyn and Caroline's Fight
In episode 7, we see Carolyn feel out of place at a cocktail party thrown for her and John at his sister Caroline's home. She begins to play with the children, and when Caroline's young daughter asks to go downstairs to get candy from the doorman, Carolyn takes her. The paparazzi are standing outside, where they're able to see Carolyn and the girl through the glass. This intrusion prompts a major fight between Caroline, Carolyn, and John.
In real life, a picture was captured by the paparazzi that showed Carolyn holding Jack Schlossberg, Caroline's son, in the building lobby. InJFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography,Terenzio describes the scenario playing out similarly to whatLove Storydepicted.
Lee Radziwill's Surprising Gift
During the party at Caroline's house in "Obsession," Anthony and Carolyn joke about his mother Lee Radziwill sending Carolyn drug-store hair clips as a wedding gift. According toPeople, she was reportedly frustrated that John and Carolyn hadn't invited her to their wedding.
The Rumors in the Press
The morning after Carolyn and John attend a party at the Guggenheim museum in episode 7, she seesheadlinessuggesting that she's pregnant and becomes incredibly upset. The baby rumors that Carolyn endured were real; the press was eager to get the first shot of her pregnant.
The Documentary Fight
In "Obsession," John learns from his business partner that his brother-in-law, Ed Schlossberg, has signed him up to narrate an HBO documentary on his father's assassination—something that John has no intention of doing. We later see this tension boil over between John, Ed, and Caroline.
This anecdote about the documentary seems grounded in truth, though it has not been fully verified. Writer Steven Gillon mentions a fight between the real-life Ed and John over an HBO documentary in his bookAmerican's Reluctant Prince,and the documentary is also referenced inJFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography.
Diana's Death
Carolyn gets a call from her sister Lauren telling her to turn on the TV, as Princess Diana has been killed. Once John and Carolyn realize that paparazzi were involved in the car accident, Carolyn becomes incredibly upset and mentions that she had recently seen Diana at Gianni Versace's funeral. Versace's funeral was held in Milan in July 1997, a month before Diana was killed. Pictures show that, as Carolyn says on the show, she was sitting one row behind Diana.
John's Broken Foot
When the episode jumps ahead by one year, John has broken his foot and is using crutches. He talks about how he needs more hours of instrument instruction to supplement his training. John did have a broken foot in the summer of 1998, and it was a factor in the deadly plane crash, along with his lack of instrument training, theNew York Timesreported.
This story will be updated.
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