Carole Radziwill, a cast member of "The Real Housewives of New York City," stated that her fellow castmates frequently asked her about her late friends John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette during the filming of Season 16. Radziwill, who was married to Kennedy Jr.'s cousin Anthony Radziwill before his death in 1999, described the period as emotionally challenging. The increased attention on the couple followed the February release of "Love Story," a series that focused on their lives.
"It was a very emotional time for me," Radziwill told USA Today in an interview. "That show, really, it was like a body slam. I didn’t watch it, but you couldn’t get away from it."
She noted that other cast members had watched the series and were curious, leading to many questions directed at her. Radziwill expressed that she had not anticipated discussing the topic, as she had previously addressed her relationships with Kennedy Jr., Bessette, and her late husband in her 2005 memoir, "What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love."
"I think people sometimes conflate talking and writing," she said. "What I had to say about that time in my life, I wrote in a book."
Radziwill reflected on the personal grief associated with losing Kennedy Jr. and Bessette in a plane crash in July 1999, followed by her husband's death from cancer the next month. She explained that the emotions resurfaced during filming.
"The emotions all came back. It’s a little grief that I felt, almost the whole time I was filming," Radziwill stated. "You’ll see the arc of that story throughout, I think, the whole season. Certainly in the beginning, and then it comes up really big at the end, and that was completely unplanned."
Earlier this year, Radziwill also shared that an unnamed ex-partner had auditioned for the role of Anthony Radziwill in "Love Story" and had asked her for recordings of the late businessman to help with the portrayal. The role was ultimately played by Erich Bergen, and Radziwill clarified that Bergen was not her ex. The series featured Paul Anthony Kelly as Kennedy Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette. Radziwill herself was not depicted in the dramatized series.