The Valentine’s Day box office may be abuzz with the imminent release of Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, but there is another equally tragic love story to sink your teeth into over the weekend. Landing on Disney+ on 13 February 2026, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette marks the first cinematic foray into the relationship of one of America’s most famous couples – and their heartbreaking demise. 

The inaugural series in Glee and American Horror Story executive producer Ryan Murphy’s Love Story anthology, having recently completed his Monster collection exploring the lives of some of the world’s most heinous criminals, including Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers. Now moving away from horror and into the world of romance, Murphy found the high-profile relationship of John F Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette the perfect place to start. 

Creator Connor Hines worked closely with Murphy and told Emmy magazine this month: “I couldn’t believe nobody had done a story about this – what a powerful, moving and tumultuous love story. In addition to them being the most beautiful people on Earth, they were rock stars.”

Paul Anthony Kelly as John F Kennedy Jr.

Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bassette

The nine-part series – the first three episodes premiere tomorrow, with the rest dropping weekly on Fridays – has called on Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon to play the star-crossed lovers. Talking about the challenge of getting into character, Kelly told Interview magazine: “I also listened to Jr read his father’s book Profiles in Courage every day before work to get into his cadence and vocal style. He was a very well-documented individual. There’s just so much to take in, so once I got this, I was just a sponge.” 

Well documented, indeed. In fact, many think Kennedy Jr. is the closest thing America has ever had to royalty. The son of assassinated President John F Kennedy, who was three when his father died, Kennedy Jr. grew up in the spotlight. Much like the princes in the UK, his every move – and relationship – was thoroughly documented by the media, with all eyes on the bachelor born into the feted American political dynasty. 

Powerful and handsome, romance came easily to JFK Jr. and over the years his girlfriends included Brooke Shields, Cindy Crawford and Sarah Jessica Parker, who later told The New York Times that she had no idea what “real fame” was until dating Kennedy Jr. and felt it became the “defining factor” of who she was. When, in 1992, Kennedy Jr. met fashion publicist Carolyn Bessette, the heartthrob appeared to be embarking on a fairytale romance – but neither knew they wouldn’t get their happy ending. 

A whirlwind romance under scrutiny

Bessette landed a job assisting VIPs at Calvin Klein shortly after graduating from Boston University – and one of her clients was Kennedy Jr. He left an appointment with her number but the relationship got off to a rocky start: he supposedly invited her to a gala dinner and arrived with another woman, and when he was once two hours late for a date, she threw a glass of wine in his face. He was charmed by her poise and wit, and by 1995, the couple were engaged and living together with their dog in New York. 

According to Once Upon A Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller, which also inspired the new series, life wasn’t too rosy behind closed doors either. Bessette struggled with the relentless media attention, so much so that she quit her job as director of show productions at Calvin Klein. She was hounded by paparazzi and tabloids named her the ‘ice queen’, ‘gold digger', ‘coke head’ and ‘cheater’ while criticising her every fashion choice. She slowly became more of a recluse, and noticeably thinner. 

A private wedding and a public aftermath

The couple tied the knot in September 1996 away from media attention on a remote island in Georgia. Once they returned to Tribeca, however, news spread about their nuptials and media attention intensified. David Heymann quoted Kennedy Jr. as saying, “Getting married is a big adjustment for us, and for a private citizen like Carolyn, even more so. I ask you to give her all the privacy and room you can,” in his 2007 book American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy. But as high society citizens in New York, the couple were always on show or at shows by the likes of Mariuccia Mandelli and Gianni Versace.

Bessette’s minimal-chic style, which has since become synonymous with the Nineties, was constantly compared to that of her mother-in-law and former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Bessette told friends she could only escape the paparazzi if she left her house at 7am. She refused to give interviews and declined opportunities to model in magazines. Tensions rose when Kennedy Jr. couldn’t understand why she couldn’t leave the house and get on with her life, despite her helping him with his political magazine, George. She allegedly told a friend about the paparazzi: “I hate those b*******. I’d rather scream and curse them.” 

After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, the couple, understandably, became even more spooked but the media attention didn’t relent. Bessette allegedly turned to cocaine which made her increasingly paranoid, while infidelity rumours swirling around Kennedy Jr. went into overdrive (not helped by him being photographed with other women at hotels) and internal relationships began to break down; Bessette was not on good terms with her sister-in-law Caroline Kennedy, who reportedly criticised her for being late to her own wedding, and the couple sought marriage counselling in the spring of 1999. Close friends and sources have always denied divorce rumours. 

The tragic death of Kennedy Jr. and Bessette

Kennedy Jr.’s childhood dream was to become a pilot, and he started flying lessons in 1998. Many of his family were against the idea – perhaps not wanting to tempt the ‘Kennedy Curse’ – with his sister Carolyn hoping he’d give it up altogether. He was, however, an adrenaline junkie at heart. 

Bessette allegedly refused to fly with Kennedy Jr. unless he had a co-pilot, but on 16 July 1999, she and her sister Lauren boarded a light aircraft with him from New Jersey. The plan was for Lauren to be dropped off at Martha's Vineyard before the couple continued on to Massachusetts to attend the wedding of his cousin. Kennedy had checked in with the air traffic control tower at the Martha's Vineyard Airport, but the plane was reported missing after it failed to arrive.

It was later discovered that the plane had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Debris and a black suitcase belonging to Bessette were recovered but it took five days for authorities to find the bodies. Divers found Carolyn and Lauren near the twisted and broken fuselage while Kennedy's body was still in the pilot's seat. All three were still strapped in, and toxicology came back negative for drink and drugs, leaving something of a mystery as to what caused the crash. Love Story is slated to feature Murphy and Hines interpretation of what happened to the trio in their final moments. 

The tragic loss of the former president’s son and his bride rocked the US, with then President Bill Clinton stating he would do anything he could to support the Kennedys. On the morning of 22 July, the ashes of the three passengers were scattered from the Navy ship USS Briscoe off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. And another couple go down in history for facing unbearable media attention, and not being able to survive. 

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette will be available to stream from 13 February 2026 on Disney+.

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