Caroline Bessette: Friend Debunks Wedding Day Tension with Caroline Kennedy
Recent depictions in the Hulu and FX series “Love Story” have reignited long-standing rumors of friction between Carolyn Bessette and her sister-in-law, Caroline Kennedy, on the day of her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. However, Sasha Chermayeff, a childhood friend of John F. Kennedy Jr., is setting the record straight.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Chermayeff addressed the alleged tensions, stating, “People knew that there was some tension between them as the two couples,” referring to John and Carolyn, and Caroline and her husband, Edwin Schlossberg. “That was something that people did know, but it wasn’t really apparent at the wedding.”
Chermayeff emphasized the atmosphere at the intimate September 1996 wedding on a remote island off the coast of Georgia. “At that point, there wasn’t a feeling of tension at all. It was just not there,” she affirmed. All 40 guests were reportedly “on their best behavior” and simply “happy” for the couple.
While Caroline Kennedy served as Carolyn’s matron of honor, Chermayeff recalls that the bridesmaid duties were largely handled by Carolyn’s mother, Ann Messina Freeman, and her sisters, Lisa and Lauren Bessette. Close friends Jessica Weinstein, Jules Birnbaum, and Narciso Rodriguez – the designer of Carolyn’s wedding dress – were also integral to the bridal party.
Chermayeff suggested that Caroline Kennedy didn’t necessarily need to take on traditional bridesmaid responsibilities. “I’m not convinced that she had to do anything like that. I think Carolyn had her people pretty much with her,” she explained. Instead, Chermayeff remembers Caroline dedicating much of the wedding weekend to caring for her three children with Ed Schlossberg: Rose, Tatiana (who tragically passed away in December 2025 from cancer), and Jack. She also recalls Caroline joining John’s friends and family on the beach before the rehearsal dinner.
The FX drama, produced by Ryan Murphy, portrays a more tumultuous relationship between Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) and Caroline (Grace Gummer). Episode 4 depicts an icy exchange after John invites a Calvin Klein publicist to Caroline’s birthday dinner. Subsequent episodes showcase arguments over wedding plans, with Caroline expressing feeling excluded from the decision-making process. In one scene, Carolyn explains their desire for a small wedding to avoid a “Kennedy spectacle,” to which Caroline retorts that she “hasn’t been included in any decisions.”
The series also portrays a conflict between Carolyn and her sister Lauren, stemming from Carolyn’s decision to ask Caroline to be her matron of honor. Carolyn expresses her concern about Caroline feeling resentful, stating, “I can’t go into my wedding, my marriage, with her resenting me.” Lauren questions why Caroline would resent her, and Carolyn replies, “For taking her only family left away from her. The Kennedys are like the Beatles. I feel like Yoko.”
Chermayeff, who has chosen not to watch the show about her late friends who tragically died in a plane crash on July 16, 1999, believes the series is a fictionalized account. “The way I look at it, [‘Love Story’] is just being made by a group of people that never met them, didn’t know them, and are just making it up as they go along,” she stated. A representative for Caroline Kennedy did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
For more information on the Kennedy family, you can visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
