‘Real Housewives Of New York’ Star’s Intimate Connection With John F. Kennedy Jr.
One of the stars of The Real Housewives of New York City spoke candidly about her intimate connection to the late John F. Kennedy Jr. to honor the 20th anniversary of his untimely death, when he lost control of his single-engine Piper Saratoga airplane and the aircraft plunged into the ocean, killing John, his wife Carolyn, and her sister Lauren Bessette.
Carole Radziwill revealed in a new interview for the A&E special titled Biography: JFK Jr. The Final Year that there are several things about the late son of President John F. Kennedy that the public did not know. Carole spoke to historian Steven M. Gillion for the television event, reported E! Entertainment Television.
“He was complicated,” noted the Real Housewives star. “Based on his upbringing, what he went through, John was very stoic, so when it came to Anthony’s illness, he had blinders on. And for a long time, he would not really acknowledge that Anthony was going to die from cancer. He blocked it out for a long time. You know, ’cause John wasn’t, like, a sad person…he was, you know, buck up.”
Carole’s late husband Anthony Radziwill was John’s cousin and best friend. Anthony was the only son of Jacqueline Kennedy’s sister, Lee Radziwill. Anthony was battling cancer during the last months of John’s life. He would pass away one month after his cousin’s tragic death in July 1999.
Carole also revealed that she, Anthony, John, and his wife Carolyn would often have dinner together as the two men, although cousins by blood, were as close as two brothers. John had one sibling, his older sister Caroline. Their mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was married to President Kennedy as he made his great ascent to the Oval Office and was with him when he was callously assassinated in 1963.
“John and Anthony trusted each other, they confided in each other, they teased each other, but they loved each other. The kind of love that doesn’t have to express itself all the time, you just knew it,” Carole said in the special.
Carole once revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that she was one of the last people to talk with Carolyn before she got on the plane with her husband that fateful night to fly to the wedding of Rory Kennedy. The RHONY star says that Carolyn called her right before they took off. Although John and Carolyn were reportedly having problems in their relationship and she initially did not want to attend the wedding, John convinced his wife to attend with him. They brought Lauren Bessette with them to accompany Carolyn on the trip. The couple intended to drop Lauren Bessette off at Martha’s Vineyard, then fly on to Hyannis Port for the nuptials.
Biography: JFK Jr. The Final Year airs Tuesday, July 16 at 9 p.m. on A&E to mark the 20th anniversary of JFK Jr.’s death.
