Ryan Murphy’s biographical drama Love Story explores the intense relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, culminating in their tragic deaths alongside her sister Lauren Bessette in a 1999 plane crash. The FX and Hulu series, starring Paul Anthony Kelly as JFK Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn, omits one key figure from their circle: Real Housewives of New York City star Carole Radziwill.

Deep Bonds Formed in the 1990s

Carole Radziwill, then 36, shared an unbreakable friendship with John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and her own husband Anthony Radziwill. Anthony, JFK Jr.’s cousin and nephew of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, served as best man at John and Carolyn’s wedding, while John reciprocated at Carole and Anthony’s ceremony.

The couples bonded closely, renting a Hamptons summer home together in 1992. Carole recalled in a 2005 People interview: “I never heard him introduce himself as ‘John F Kennedy Jr’ in the 10 years that I knew him. He was just ‘John Kennedy’.” She instantly connected with Carolyn, who approached her warmly: “She came right over to me as though she knew me and put her hand on my shoulder and asked if I had an extra toothbrush.”

Excluded from the Series

Sources close to the production describe Carole’s role as “adjacent, not central” to the core love story. A producer explains: “You can’t include everyone who attended the dinners. Audiences want the love story. That’s the engine.” A Hollywood insider adds that her Kennedy connections make the omission particularly stinging: “For someone who values that Kennedy proximity, being left out of the definitive retelling? That’s a hard pill.”

Devastating Losses in 1999

Tragedy struck in July 1999 when John piloted a small plane carrying Carolyn and Lauren into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard amid foggy conditions. Carole spoke to Carolyn shortly before takeoff, planning a casual dinner of grilled steaks and peach pie just 48 hours later.

That night, a call from John’s friend “Pinky” at Martha’s Vineyard Airport alerted Carole to the issue. She contacted air traffic control and filed a missing persons report with the Coast Guard around 2:30 a.m. Reflecting in a 2017 People interview, she said: “Once I said that out loud to the Coast Guard and made the missing persons report, I knew that this was a real thing. That was a heartbreaking moment.”

Just three weeks later, Anthony succumbed to fibrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in Carole’s arms at a New York hospital. In her 2005 memoir What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love, she wrote: “I listen to [his] heartbeat until it is so faint I can barely hear it and then it’s gone.”

Throughout Anthony’s battle—diagnosed initially in 1989 and recurring before their 1994 wedding—John and Carolyn provided unwavering support. Carole told The Telegraph in 2005: “When they were kids, John was always the one who joked with Anthony and could make him laugh… But he also told me that he was afraid that if he stopped joking, Anthony would know things were really bad.”

Reflections on Loss and Friendship

Carole has described the deaths as “soul-crushing,” saying in 2005: “We were all unbelievably close. Their deaths brought me to my knees.” In her memoir, she reflected: “I lost everything that night… Carolyn was the glue who kept people together.” She viewed 1999 as “the end of an era, the end of a century, the end of an innocence.”

From Journalism to Reality TV and Back

Carole rose from an unpaid intern to ABC producer in Manhattan, where she met Anthony. Post-loss, her 2005 memoir spent 12 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. She launched a Glamour column, Lunch Dates, interviewing guests like Alec Baldwin and Prince Andrew.

She joined Real Housewives of New York City in season 5 (2011), exiting after season 10 in 2018 amid tensions, including a clash with producer Andy Cohen. In her departure statement: “I have decided to return to what I do best—journalism and producing… My original curiosity about reality television has waned.”

Recent announcements confirm her return as a “friend” in the upcoming 16th season.