In 1999, I was a young producer working at a production company in Cape Town, producing international commercials and dreaming big TV dreams. News travelled differently back then, whispered across edit suites, announced on radio bulletins, repeated in hushed conversations between takes.

That’s when I heard about the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of John F. Kennedy Junior, his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette.
And I remember something very clearly.
The world mourned “American royalty.” The headlines focused on JFK Jr. The glamour. The dynasty. The legacy.
But quietly, heartbreakingly, the Bessette family lost two daughters that day.
That stayed with me.

So when I saw that Disney+ had debuted the official trailer for FX’s limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, it instantly took me back to that moment in 1999, to the shock, the disbelief. All 3 who passed were only in their thirties.

This nine-episode series, the first installment in Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story” anthology, is inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and premiered on 12 February with the first three episodes, followed by weekly drops. I watched all 3 episodes so far, and was completely captivated by the acting.

Watch the trailer here:

But beyond the glamour, this story has layers. John F. Kennedy Jr. (played by Paul Anthony Kelly) was the closest thing to American royalty, the boy the world watched salute his father’s coffin, who grew into a media darling and the nation’s most eligible bachelor.

Carolyn Bessette (played by Sarah Pidgeon) was never just “the wife.” She was fiercely independent, stylish in a way that felt effortless, and had built her own career from sales assistant to executive at Calvin Klein, becoming a trusted confidante to its founder. She will forever be my style icon, and an early adopter or even the creator, of what we now call “quiet luxury”.

Their chemistry was immediate. Electric. Undeniable. But here’s what I remember from that time: the media obsession was relentless. As someone working in production, I understood how narratives are built. How public fascination can quickly become pressure. How a love story can become a spectacle.

And that’s what makes this series compelling. It promises not just romance, but the complexity of fame. The fragility behind the flashbulbs. The weight of expectation.

The cast also features Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter) as Caroline Kennedy, Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein, Leila George as Kelly Klein, Sydney Lemmon as Lauren Bessette, and Constance Zimmer as Ann Marie Messina. The cast grounds this love story in the world that both elevated and consumed them.

For me, this isn’t just another glossy biographical drama. It’s a reminder of a moment in history. Of a couple whose private love became a national obsession. And of a family, the Bessettes, whose loss deserves to be remembered just as much.

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