Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, metaphorically, of course.

I have read the books about America’s prince and did a round-up of them all for the 25^th anniversary of his death in 2019 for this paper. I’ve seen the documentaries. And as a native New Yorker, I watched the lives of JFK Jr. and Caroline Bessette play out in real time in the tabloids, on television, and occasionally in person.

And so, I cringe-watched the first three episodes of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, because once you’ve had the real thing, a dupe just won’t do.

The show is loosely based on another book I wrote about here in 2024 called Once Upon a Time, The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller.

Unlike other bios about the Kennedy heir, where Carolyn is always reduced to a plus-one ice queen, Beller put the one-time Calvin Klein publicist at the center of the action and gave her a positive spin. (Journalist and podcaster Maureen Callahan also spotlighted Carolyn in her book, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed, except, as you can surmise from the title, she used a different tone.)

Murphy’s version—replete with the successful creator’s usual crassness and vulgarity—expands upon Beller’s portrayal. The willowy blonde, played by Sarah Pidgeon, is cited as the only woman whom John (Paul Anthony Kelly) ever had to woo; this, according to the fictional Anthony Radziwill, his real-life cousin and best friend.

If you’re looking for a glossy, Sex And The City-type program about beautiful, rich New Yorkers swanning around high-tone Manhattan venues, you’ve hit the jackpot. This work of fiction, based on fact, will satiate your love of ‘90s fashion from the woman with the best capsule wardrobe ever, and your how-the-other-half-lives curiosity.

It also offers pro tips on dating without the aid of an App. In Love Story, Carolyn plays by The Rules. She presents as a creature like no other, isn’t always available, and never acts the sycophant like the rest of NYC when in contact with People’s 1988 Sexiest Man Alive.

Because of her bottomless pit of self-worth, the future style icon simply and seamlessly moves on to Calvin Klein model Michael Bergin after finding out, courtesy of the front page of the New York Post, that the guy she thought she was seeing got back together with his movie star ex.

All I can say about this series has already been said by Mark Twain: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

On a positive note, the costume designer debunks the current fashion magazine myth that CBK was the queen of quiet luxury. In the first scene, she’s carrying a Birkin and sporting an Hermes “H” belt. (The real Carolyn also swung a Prada tote and wore, of course, Calvin Klein.)

The casting is as good as it could get. Dree Hemingway’s embodiment of the ethereal, with a side order of kookie, Daryl Hannah is priceless. Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is equally on the money. Alessandro Nivola and Leila George as Calvin and Kelly Klein throw a little Devil Wears Prada into the mix.

The subplot of the George magazine editor-in-chief interacting with his mother, Jackie O., and his older sister isn’t so much interesting or revealing as it is a welcome break from the oft plodding Romance of the Century. (It was not “whirlwind” as the IMDB summary describes. It took three years for them to reconnect after their initial few dates.)

The show also highlights the question I’ve been pondering since 1996: Why did a woman who resented and feared being stalked by paparazzi (to the point that it made her an unemployed recluse) marry a man who lived his entire life being stalked by the paparazzi?

My suggestion to anyone who’s going to invest in Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette from someone who has heard this couple’s story told from every angle—John’s executive assistant [RoseMarie Torenzio], George Magazine colleagues, childhood friends, college friends, family members, and ex-lovers of both he and Carolyn—treat this reenactment as a blueprint to get a general idea of what they and their lives were like. Then read the books and watch the YouTube footage of the real John and Carolyn, which is more mesmerizing than watching actors, albeit very attractive ones, play them on TV.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel “The Last Single Woman In New York City.”