All posts tagged: John F. Kennedy Jr.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s Onscreen Wedding Is Big Drama. These 8 Real-Life Unions Have Them Beat.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s Onscreen Wedding Is Big Drama. These 8 Real-Life Unions Have Them Beat.

Published by Sam Flores

Any wedding involving one of the world’s richest men was bound to make news. But Bezos and Sánchez’s starry three-day celebration in Venice sparked major backlash among the Italian locals concerned for their floating home: Venice has sunk about 10 inches in the last century as water levels around it have also risen, and an influx of visitors, they worried, would exacerbate the situation. “Let’s make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs,” protester Na Haby Stella Faye said at the time, according to The New York Times. “We have a chance to disrupt a $10 million wedding—let’s do it.” Reuters reported that security concerns stemming from the locals’ pre-wedding protests prompted the bride and groom to change their wedding-party venue. From June 26 to 28, the city was plastered with posters featuring Bezos’s head on a rocket and messages like this one: “In the time it takes to read this, Jeff Bezos’ wealth has increased more …

John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’ Ending Explained

John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’ Ending Explained

Published by Daniella Wilson

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the Love Story finale, “Search and Recovery”.] After seven weeks of ’90s nostalgia and an intimate look at America’s ultimate power couple — John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy — Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette concluded Thursday night. And it was an emotional watch, to say the least. Created by Connor Hines and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, the anthology series picks up shortly after last week’s episode, when John (Paul Anthony Kelly) left for the night. Set during the final weekend of their lives, the episode reveals that he never came back from leaving Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) during that explosive argument. Still, the two attempt to repair their relationship, visiting a marriage counselor who suggests they spend time apart. After leaving the session, they head to a dive bar and reminisce about the passion and excitement of their early relationship — before it was strained by relentless media attention, and before Carolyn, in particular, struggled to adjust to such a drastic change …

How ‘Love Story’ Said Goodbye to JFK Jr. and Carolyn

How ‘Love Story’ Said Goodbye to JFK Jr. and Carolyn

Published by Sam Flores

The episode begins with John and Carolyn in a couples therapy session. We watch them fall in love with each other again—they even return to Panna II, the restaurant where they had their first date. Can you talk about that decision, showing them mending their relationship? Simpson: Everyone knew that he’d moved out. We knew that it was rocky, and they were having good times and bad times. We knew that she had committed to going to this wedding, and they were in couples counseling. In terms of the unknowable question of “what would happen if they hadn’t gone down on the plane,” I think our tendency was to lean toward hope and toward positivity. We wanted to go back to that Indian restaurant. We wanted to go back, after two really intense episodes, to the romance between the two of them. Lean in to the idea that the show’s about how relationships are tough. You have a great romance that has to live in the reality of a marriage. What we wanted to lean …

How ‘Love Story’ Said Goodbye to JFK Jr. and Carolyn

How ‘Love Story’ Said Goodbye to JFK Jr. and Carolyn

Published by Sam Flores

The episode begins with John and Carolyn in a couples therapy session. We watch them fall in love with each other again—they even return to Panna II, the restaurant where they had their first date. Can you talk about that decision, showing them mending their relationship? Simpson: Everyone knew that he’d moved out. We knew that it was rocky, and they were having good times and bad times. We knew that she had committed to going to this wedding, and they were in couples counseling. In terms of the unknowable question of “what would happen if they hadn’t gone down on the plane,” I think our tendency was to lean toward hope and toward positivity. We wanted to go back to that Indian restaurant. We wanted to go back, after two really intense episodes, to the romance between the two of them. Lean in to the idea that the show’s about how relationships are tough. You have a great romance that has to live in the reality of a marriage. What we wanted to lean …

It’s Harder Than It Looks to Replicate Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Minimalist Style

It’s Harder Than It Looks to Replicate Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Minimalist Style

Published by Sam Flores

Until now, however, Bessette had never come to life on screen (only two very brief videos exist where her voice can be heard). Played on the show by Sarah Pidgeon, audiences on TikTok have gone into a frenzy with appreciations and tutorials showing how to style Besette staples like a white shirt, pencil skirt, and headband. Easy, right? Or…not. The secret to timeless style A black wool sweater, beige coat, and jeans are staples for those looking to copy Carolyn Bessette, but the items alone aren’t enough to come close to the same look. Her sense of personal style and taste are what helped define an aesthetic that persisted through a decade, much longer than a transient trend. Designers such as Prada, Helmut Lang, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, and Donna Karan all embraced the “less is more” ethos at the time, defining what we now call “quiet luxury” with looks that worked by subtraction, succeeding in the arduous feat of being stark but simultaneously glamorous and sexy. Today, brands like The Row use clean lines …

The Dream of the ’90s Is Alive at New York City’s JFK Jr. Look-Alike Competition

The Dream of the ’90s Is Alive at New York City’s JFK Jr. Look-Alike Competition

Published by Sam Flores

Barry, Nathan, and a friendMaddy Rotman Barry informed me that the winner of the competition wore rollerblades—a nice nod to the actual JFK Jr, who was frequently papped blading around Tribeca. But that mysterious man was gone by the time I arrived, roller blading into the sunset with his grand prize of $250 and a new pickup line—“You know, I won a JFK Jr. Lookalike contest.” Maybe he’ll use it next Saturday when he goes barhopping in the West Village, in search of his Carolyn. There were plenty of Bessette Kennedy imitators in the crowd, including Jen Humis and Delaney Driscoll, who say they came to the event looking to bag a JFK Jr. of their very own. “We’re outsourcing,” joked Humis. “We’re boots on the ground, on the scene, taking a look around.” Unfortunately, their boots were late; they missed the competition because they were too busy drinking a pitcher of mimosas to arrive on time. “We saw a few,” said Driscoll of the competitors. “It was a flop, but whatever.” Jen Humis and Delaney …

Alessandro Nivola Talks Calvin Klein and Carolyn Bessette

Alessandro Nivola Talks Calvin Klein and Carolyn Bessette

Published by Daniella Wilson

[This story contains spoilers from Love Story, episode six, “The Wedding.”] Portraying Calvin Klein — a name nearly everyone knows and a designer who defined minimalist fashion in the 1990s — is no small feat, but Alessandro Nivola was up for the challenge. Klein is also largely responsible for launching the career of another fashion icon: Carolyn Bessette. And while FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette mainly focuses on the relationship — and tragedy — of JFK Jr. (played by Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon), viewers also get a glimpse of Carolyn’s life before she met John, when she lived in New York’s East Village and worked for Calvin Klein. He also played a role in bringing the couple together. The first six episodes depict Carolyn’s working relationship with Calvin, her rise through the ranks at the fashion company, and the two’s real friendship. “There was a platonically romantic element to it,” Nivola tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I think he really loves her.” That’s what makes Thursday night’s episode especially painful: …

Inside the Super-Secret, Ultra-Intimate Wedding of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

Inside the Super-Secret, Ultra-Intimate Wedding of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

Published by Sam Flores

The dinner and reception took place at the Greyfield Inn, a historic building on the island, where the couple celebrated their love amid toasts and laughter. The groom said that with the ring on his finger, he felt like “the happiest man in the world.” Again, to ensure the utmost confidentiality, the couple relied on the inn’s owners, Gogo Ferguson and Dave Ferguson, to handle every detail with absolute discretion. Dave Ferguson, a pilot, also handled the transportation of the guests and the couple to the island to ensure that they would arrive without being noticed. In order to move around the island smoothly, each guest received a special coin: a rare Buffalo nickel, which had to be shown to the security guards as a kind of access pass that allowed free movement in the wedding area. At the reception, there was a DJ, the Macarena was danced, and a three-tiered white wedding cake was cut. The first dance took place to the notes of Prince’s “Forever in My Life,” while Ted Kennedy’s toast moved …

How ‘Love Story’ Recreated John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s Wedding, Down to the Last Cigarette

How ‘Love Story’ Recreated John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s Wedding, Down to the Last Cigarette

Published by Sam Flores

The room watched JFK Jr. and Carolyn’s Wedding: The Lost Tapes to get a feel for the order of operations. Listening to attendees share memories from the occasion, we were struck by the joy and reverence and warmth that friends and family of the couple still felt about that weekend 25 years later. We wanted the drama of the wedding episode to mimic the conflict surrounding any wedding, which is to say the drama of logistics. Who’s sitting where? Which friends made the cut for the guest list? Who’s wearing what? Unlike every other episode of the show, this is the one where John and Carolyn are in total lockstep, working as a team to achieve a shared goal. It’s them against the world. It’s the height of their romance, when everything seems possible. The plan was to illustrate this with two moments set to iconic ’90s songs. Moment one: Their dance to the Pulp song “Common People” at the top of the episode. But there was a snag: When it came time to clear …

George, JFK Jr.’s Real Magazine From Love Story, Ended in Failure. Its Photo Shoots Were Legendary.

George, JFK Jr.’s Real Magazine From Love Story, Ended in Failure. Its Photo Shoots Were Legendary.

Published by Sam Flores

The mid-’90s was a glossy magazine gold rush, just before the internet yanked the rug out from under legacy media. But despite all his fame and familial connections, Kennedy initially struggled to get funding for his magazine because back then, the idea of a political lifestyle magazine sounded crazy to publishers. That sounds even crazier from the vantage point of 2026, living in a country where the president is a former TV star, many of his Cabinet members were plucked from Fox News, and they all regularly rage about talk show hosts and NFL halftime performers. The culture we now live in was just revving up when George began. Rupert Murdoch was unleashing the Fox News channel; The Real World invented reality TV; Microsoft released Windows 95; and Amazon.com was born. Americans treated O.J. Simpson’s trial and Hillary Clinton’s Whitewater testimony like soap operas. In this gaudy new tabloid landscape, George made a place for itself. Its mantra was simple: serious topics, but make them fun. The debut issue, featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford on the …