Carolyn Bessette's Decision Resist the Media Attention After JFK Jr. Marriage Cost Her Dearly
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If there’s one thing that Carolyn Bessette disliked about her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., it was the media attention that came with the union. Instead of the press getting their shot after their wedding, the media hounded her constantly and it made her retreat from her family and friends.
The first mistake was their decision to live in JFK Jr.’s Tribeca loft which offered no security and no doorman — nobody was there looking out for Bessette. According to a new biography, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller, the former Calvin Klein publicist would step out onto the sidewalk and be swarmed by the paparazzi. Her close friend, MJ Bettenhausen, described her to Beller, via E! News, as a “caged animal” and Chris Oberbeck, JFK Jr.’s former roommate at Brown University, accused the press of growing crueler the more she stepped out of the public eye. She was “like a tiger in its cage; pacing back and forth and understandably angry,” he said in the book.
The couple couldn’t go anywhere without every step and moment captured by the cameras — an infamous fight in Washington Square Park started a breakup narrative that never stopped even after they got married. Bessette’s job at Calvin Klein also became an issue. “It had become increasingly impossible for her to walk into the office due to the stalking paparazzi’s presence,” Beller wrote. She quit her beloved job of seven years for the high-end designer in March 1996. Bessette wanted to work, but it was challenging to hold down a job under those conditions.
Most of the snapshots that remain of Bessette show her looking down at the ground without a smile on her face. The constant scrutiny was overwhelming, and she didn’t want to give the paparazzi one quick shot — it was either leave her alone or get nothing. It had to be an oppressive way to live and the thought of even starting a family with JFK Jr. sounded like a bad idea because of the press.
Beller noted in her research that Bessette was finally coming into her own and finding a way to deal with the paparazzi. Her older sister Lauren lived only a few blocks away and she offered her the privacy and comfort that she often needed. Beller examined, “The message seemed to be: I still have my own life. Take me for granted, and I won’t be there.” The tragic accident in 1999 never allowed Bessette to fulfill her dreams just as she was finally making peace with her public profile.
Before you go, click here to see photos of JFK and Jackie O.’s grown-up grandkids.