When a TV series decides to retell the lives of real people, it walks a delicate line between storytelling and history. That challenge sits at the heart of “Love Story”, the anthology drama from executive producer Ryan Murphy, which dramatizes the relationship between Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. (JFK Jr.). Their romance, often portrayed as glamorous and tragic and is intensely scrutinized, has long fascinated the public. But as the series brings their story to the small screen, viewers are left to consider an important question: how much is real, and how much is dramatic interpretation?
In real life, Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr. were one of the most talked about couples of the 1990s. JFK Jr., the son of President John F. Kennedy, grew up under the constant eye of the American public. Bessette-Kennedy, a fashion publicist for Calvin Klein, grew up a child of divorced parents in Greenwich, Connecticut. Photographs of the couple walking through New York streets or leaving glamorous events fed the media narrative of a modern American fairytale. Yet, behind the glossy magazine covers was a more complicated reality.
The real relationship between the two wasn’t just shaped by their love, it was also shaped by intense media attention. Paparazzi frequently followed them, and reports from friends and journalists suggest the pressure of constant publicity created a strain on their relationship, especially after they were married in 1996. Bessette-Kennedy, known for valuing privacy, reportedly struggled after marrying into America’s most famous political family. JFK Jr., meanwhile, balanced the expectations tied to his family name with his own ambitions as a lawyer, magazine publisher and public figure.
TV drama, however, thrives and relies on emotional tension, clear conflicts and heightened moments. In “Love Story”, Murphy and his team ultimately have to condense timelines, imagine private conversations and really emphasize dramatic turning points in their story to keep viewers engaged. Scenes depict arguments, romantic moments and personal struggle that historians can’t 100% confirm. One of these moments happens in episode four, titled “I Love You”, where JFK jr. finds a letter detailing horrible things that Bessette-Kennedy had supposedly done, causing an explosive fight between the two. Later in the episode it is revealed that the details in the letter are false, causing the two to reevaluate their relationship and set boundaries and while John finding a letter did actually happen, we aren’t exactly sure what happens next.
This format, the dramatization or depiction of people’s lives, often tends to work better when the people that are being depicted, or those who knew them, are no longer alive or have at least been notified in some way. In fact, some of the loudest voices in opposition of this show are those who are being depicted in the show or who were close with the couple.
Jack Schlossberg, JFK jr.’s nephew, recently got into a heated argument with Murphy about the show. It all started with Schlossberg posting on his Instagram story back in June where he revealed his family was not consulted in the making of the show, stating, “Admiration for my Uncle John is great. What I don’t think is great is profiting off of it in a grotesque way.” Murphy then responded on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast stating, “I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you don’t really remember,” to which Schlossberg fired back a list of specific moments with his uncle including, “being the ring bearer at his wedding and the day he died.” A few weeks before the premiere Schlossberg stated, “If you want to know someone who’s never met anyone in my family, knows nothing about us, talk to Ryan Murphy…he’s making a ton of money on a grotesque display of someone else’s life. I would hope that Mr. Murphy would donate some of the millions of dollars of profits that he is making to maybe some of the causes that John champions throughout his life…but he’s not. He’s making money. This is not a documentary,” during an interview with correspondent Mo Rocca on CBS Sunday Morning. And many arguing in defense of the show agree with Schlossberg on that last anecdote, this is not a documentary. It’s a romantic, dramatic retelling of JFK jr. and Bessette-Kennedy’s lives together, and therefore it’s not going to be accurate 100% of the time.
So where does the fascination with Bessette-Kennedy and JFK jr. come from? Author Elizabeth Beller has an answer, in her book “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,” she writes, “Carolyn’s reluctance to speak to the press and John’s deflection of rumors that he was running for office felt like they were saving their voices for the right time, the right causes, the right place. And now we would never hear them.” The two had such a symbolic place in American culture, not just as a couple, but on their own as well. They really represented glamour, youth and the lingering mystery of the Kennedy family. Their deaths turned their relationship into a story often remembered through nostalgia, seemingly frozen in a time before Facebook and 9/11.
By showing moments of vulnerability, ambition or conflict, dramatizations remind audiences that behind closed doors were two individuals navigating fame, love and enormous public expectations. Whether every scene is historically accurate or not may matter less than the broader attempt to explore the emotional truth of their reality.
Ultimately, the difference between reality and dramatization reflect a larger purpose of television. Reality provides the foundation, the real people, events and context. Dramatization adds interpretation onto that, filling the emotional spaces that history isn’t fully able to record. For viewers understanding that difference can make the series all the more interesting. Not as a documentary, but instead as a narrative inspired by a relationship that at one point in time captured the hearts and minds of a nation. In revisiting JFK jr. and Bessette-Kennedy’s lives it reminds audiences why their story continues to resonate and how we remember and view the lives of people who lived under the brightest spotlight.
