Truth behind John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s infamous fight portrayed in Love Story
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s passionate and tragic romance made them one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century.
And now, their love story has been made into a TV series by FX, starring Paul Anthony Kelly as JFK Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn.
Inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, the new show, Love Story, dramatises their tumultuous romance, as well as their tragic deaths.
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For those who aren't familiar with their story, JFK Jr was the son of the 35th US President, John F. Kennedy, and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
He and his wife, Carolyn, tied the knot in September 1996, but before this, in February of the same year, they were filmed by paparazzi, arguing in New York City’s Battery Park, and John seemingly pulled the engagement ring off Carolyn's finger.
Nevertheless, they went ahead and got married; however, they suffered a tragic fate and died on 16 July 1999.
John, Carolyn, and Carolyn's older sister Lauren lost their lives when a plane that John was flying crashed off the coast and into the waters of Martha's Vineyard.
Now, nearly 30 years to the date, the couple's infamous park argument has been dramatized in the fifth episode of Love Story - but did it get everything right?
Kelly, who plays John, recently told GQ: “Unfortunately, they had a very private situation happen very publicly. But there’s video evidence of this, and that’s one thing that we were able to really review pretty often and choreograph, so we would kind of be as close to the real thing as we could get it, without it being tacky."
In Love Story, the public argument comes after Carolyn declines John's recent marriage proposal, saying she needs time to think about it.
Her hesitation, as well as tabloid scrutiny, causes strain in their relationship and prompts John to issue a statement denying that he ever proposed.
However, this makes things worse, and eventually bubbles over into the now-famous Battery Park fight, which sees the couple scream at each other and the engagement ring be yanked off.
Executive producer Brad Simpson told Town&Country Magazine, “We had to make decisions of what to leave in and what to put out. And there’s also competing historical ideas.
"But we know that they had this huge fight in the park. It’s one of the most well-documented fights ever, but we had to imagine—the writers, Connor [Hines] and Kim Rosenstock—what was said in that fight based on where they were in their life."
While Pidgeon, who plays Carolyn, told The Hollywood Reporter, “You know, who knows what they really said in these moments. That certainly was a private moment that, unfortunately, was captured on film.”
As mentioned, while we can never really know what was said, Angie Coqueran, the paparazzi who snapped the famous photos, recalled what she saw in a recent interview with The Daily Mail.
The now 68-year-old told the publication: "Carolyn was trying to grab the dog leash, and he physically pushed her back over and over again. It looked like he was going to smack her in the face.
"He ripped a ring off her hand, and later they find it in pieces. The actual fight was only like 15 minutes. But if you look at the photos, it seems like it would be longer."
Meanwhile, Kennedy's friend Steven M. Gillon wrote in his 2019 biography America’s Reluctant Prince that the fight 'stemmed from Carolyn’s ongoing complaint that John let people walk all over him'.
Ultimately, no-one except the people involved will ever know the real, full truth.
Topics: Celebrity, TV And Film, Politics, Entertainment
Madison Burgess