Why we fell in love with Love Story: JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette

2026-03-17 - 09:22

Ryan Murphy’s series about the Kennedy heir and style icon has risen above nostalgia-bait to become a ratings blockbuster On a recent sunny Sunday in New York, Love Story seemed to be everywhere. Fans lined up around the block for tables at Panna II, the twinkly string-lit Indian restaurant where Ryan Murphy’s megahit charmingly – and if we’re being picky, inaccurately – sets John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette’s first date. Across town was a JFK Jr lookalike contest, which was rudely organized in Washington Square Park and not in my bedroom. Young women downtown wore hip-hugging pants and clean-girl makeup, and outside a repertory cinema everyone was smoking as though Parliaments were still $2 a pack. Ryan Murphy’s swoony reimagining of JFK Jr and Bessette’s romance has been a sensation, with Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette racking up 40m viewing hours to become FX’s most-watched limited series on Hulu/Disney+ to date. But it has struck a deeper chord in culture too, with legions of fans eating up the couple’s fashion and insouciant swagger, often wanting to try it on for size. Nearly 300,000 TikTok and Instagram posts are tagged #CBK, mainly videos focusing on Bessette’s sleek style, while brands jostle to cash in on what Puck calls the Bessette “halo effect”. While working on this piece, I received a J Crew newsletter titled “A 90s minimalism love story” with links to Bessette wardrobe dupes like a “Carolyn crewneck” and tortoiseshell headband. Continue reading...