Carolyn Bessette is having a hard time adjusting in first Love Story trailer

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres on February 12.

By Drew Gillis  |  February 2, 2026 | 12:35pm
Image courtesy of FX
TV News Love Story
Carolyn Bessette is having a hard time adjusting in first Love Story trailer

As famous as Sarah Jessica Parker was by the early 1990s, she told The New York Times in 1992, “I never had any idea what real fame was until I met John [F. Kennedy, Jr.],” saying, “We would go places where there wasn’t a soul around, and the next day I’d see pictures of us there in the tabloids.” It was a disorienting experience for someone who was already used to dealing with the press; you can imagine how disorienting it would be for someone like Carolyn Bessette, who was a completely private figure before her relationship with the Kennedy scion. 

Well, you won’t have to imagine for much longer. FX unveiled the first trailer for Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette this morning, the latest effort from executive producer Ryan Murphy to dramatize and humanize a story widely known from a tabloid lens. As we see in the trailer, Bessette is not having the easiest time adjusting to either the tabloid scrutiny or to what it means to be part of one of America’s most famous families. “It’s not a question of whether or not I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” says Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon). “It’s a question of whether I’m cut out to be Mrs. JFK Jr.” Mrs. JFK Sr. can relate: “There isn’t enough exposure in the world to prepare a woman to be your wife,” says Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Naomi Watts, in a role it feels somewhat shocking she hasn’t played before). 

Kennedy and Bessette married in 1996 before they were both killed in a plane crash off the coast of Massachusetts in 1999. Their romance has been the subject of continued attention long after their passing, including the publication of the book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, upon which Love Story is based. Paul Anthony Kelly stars as Kennedy Jr., along with a supporting cast including Grace Gummer, Alessandro Nivola, Leila George, Sydney Lemmon, and Constance Zimmer. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres on FX, Hulu, and Hulu on Disney+ on February 12 with three episodes; subsequent episodes will air weekly after that.

 
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