The iconic marriage that he “envied in life” and “reviled” after his death

For five years they were the most photographed couple in New York. He was John F. Kennedy’s son, the boy whom the utterly devastated First Lady held tightly in front of his father’s coffin and who eventually became a lawyer and journalist. She, from a middle-class Connecticut family, was known as the woman who had joined Calvin Klein and made Kate Moss’s underwear the brand’s finest. Also the one who had managed to woo the country’s most eligible bachelor.

Now, just 25 years ago, their names were in the news but this time they were not surrounded by glamour, expectations or ambitions. A soft cry was heard when they lost their lives in a small plane crash on July 16, 1999.

During their relationship and their short marriage, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were the most desired by the press and American society. They analyzed their style, where they ate, where they spent the afternoon, who they saw and other details of their daily life. They were considered the princes of America and now, after a quarter of a century, their images have become almost an object of worship and they have become two immortal icons. As Manolo Blahnik said: “The only way I can define them is this: eternal.”

The story began in 1994, although the two met two years earlier at an event hosted by Bessette. He says it was the New Yorker’s one-on-one treatment that he liked most about the last part of the Kennedy saga, that he felt absorbed by a strong personality and that he never imagined the life that awaited him.

“In the ’80s and early ’90s, John was a very important part of New York. You could see him all over the city on his bike, running, skating, or partying,” journalist James Reginato told ICON in a report on the couple. “He was brooding and irritable, but also sexy because he was very handsome and comfortable showing himself and showing his body. He loved taking his shirt off. Maybe he was the harbinger of silent luxury because it was always very natural,” he added.

Manolo Blahnik said of him, “The only way I can define him is this: eternal.”

And she was everything that New York society demanded at the time. Very tall, very blonde, she had managed to reach a great position at Calvin Klein and it was through work. Her simple and sophisticated style made her a woman to follow in the early nineties, but all the attention she received since she began a courtship with the young Kennedy deterred her.

Photographers found a gold mine in this couple and followed them all over New York as they wanted to know everything, even what they ate, what they talked about, where they went shopping. She always looked shy, dejected and had unconsciously created a mystery around her that made her even more attractive to the press.

They devised a plan that they kept secret for months so that their wedding would not be surrounded by photographers or onlookers.

And that’s why she decided to hide as much as possible, especially when, in early 1996, the youngest Kennedy asked her to marry him. She didn’t want to attend such a big wedding Journalists And between the two of them they planned many times more than a Secret Service operation.

To do this, they looked for a secluded spot that was hard to reach and found it on Cumberland Island, a place with less than fifty inhabitants. They hired a caterer who signed a strict confidentiality contract and even had the gospel singer they wanted for the ceremony know the couple’s name a few days in advance for whom he was going to perform.

The invitations were made on a friend’s printer and distributed a few days before the ceremony, which was held on Saturday, September 21st that year. Fewer than 40 people attended the event, carefully screened, including representatives of both families, friends and photographer Denis Reggie, thanks to whom we have the photos from that day. No one found out about the wedding until the next day and when reporters started arriving on the island they had already left for their honeymoon in Turkey.

“He spent his whole life trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to do. In his last years, he understood that politics was part of his DNA”

Steven M. Gillon

But, when they returned, everyone was waiting for them. The building where their apartment was located became a place of pilgrimage for the press, who now waited day and night for the Kennedy-Bassetts’ entrances and exits. Apparently, he became frustrated with the situation and he went downstairs to ask the photographers for some air but got nothing. So he began spending his free time outside of New York and running in and out of the parties they attended, but it was impossible not to notice them even when they were about to take the dog out.

And it would be even worse if his wishes came true. Because that last name and the image that accompanied it were the perfect combination for John John to consider leaving his magazine aside. George to enter politics. As his friend and biographer Steven M. Gillon explained years later, “He spent his whole life trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to do. In his later years, he understood that politics was part of his DNA. I think he was ready to answer the call”.

But on July 16, 1999, just months away from celebrating their third wedding anniversary, John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren boarded a plane to Martha’s Vineyard Island, and then headed to Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Piper Saratoga II was piloted by the former US president’s son.

Bad weather and, as it turned out, Kennedy’s lack of skill led to a crash a few minutes before ten o’clock at night, with no survivors. The next day, America woke up sad and desolate, once again acknowledging the misfortunes of a family that was almost royalty and which was constantly grappling with tragedy.

So, not understanding such a cruel fate, they started looking for a scapegoat and found it in Carolyn Bessette. Rumors almost blamed her for the crash in some way or the other. It was rumored that the plane’s departure was delayed because of a pedicure and that bad weather had caught up with them. It was also said that she was a struggling woman, a drug addict and despite John John’s dreams of becoming a father, she did not want to have children. They were not speaking when the plane crashed and were planning to divorce.

“Each of these three young people represented love, success and a passion for life. John and Carolyn were true soul mates”

The Bessette Family

The media and American society created a criminal while her friends were talking about a “charming, friendly and nice” woman and a strong marriage. The Bessette family, who had lost two of their three daughters, sent a statement. “Each of these three young people represented love, success and passion for life. John and Carolyn were true companions. We find comfort in the idea that both of them will always be with Lauren,” they wrote and although at first they moved away from the focus, shortly after they filed a lawsuit when they learned that the accident had been caused by the negligence of their son-in-law.

So the image of his daughter, whom Americans considered their royalty, lost even more power. As she said Independent: “Envied in life but condemned after death.” Not forever though. These have been the years that have kept her as a style icon and have returned a much happier atmosphere to her marriage than was felt after her death.

Rumors of infidelity, fights and a future apart still persist, but there are hundreds of photos that continue to be shared, reports that magazines still publish about the image and charisma of the two and the influence they had on each other and the fashion of the next decades. Remembering Blahnik they became eternal.