At the height of her illustrious career at Calvin Klein, Carolyn Bessette was forced to quit her job to allow her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., to take center stage.
Sasha Chermayev, JFK Jr.’s best friend since high school, gave an exclusive interview to Page Six about why Bessette quit her PR job at an American fashion house after marrying the only son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
“She quit her job because basically everything had to revolve around John & George magazine,” Charmaif said, referring to the political lifestyle magazine that Kennedy Jr. co-founded in 1995.
Chermaykh also claimed that because of the magazine’s crossover with fashion, there was a “conflict of interest” for advertisers. (The first issue famously featured supermodel Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington on the cover.)
“She would have given up everything in a way to make her career more pleasing to the world, and I regret that,” Charmaif said, adding that women “were not that important” in the ’90s.
Chermayev wondered what Bessette could have accomplished had he stayed in the industry.
“She was a very smart girl… She was very, very well read. She was interested in all kinds of things,” Schermayf recalled.
After graduating from Boston University, Bessette began working for the brand as a sales associate at a store in a shopping mall in Massachusetts. While working on the floor, she caught the eye of a traveling sales coordinator who offered her a position at their flagship store in New York City.
Bessette quickly rose through the ranks and began dressing Klein’s high-profile clients, including Annette Bening and Diane Sawyer.
After being noticed by the designer himself, Bessette was quickly promoted to become director of show production.
Her reign at the clothing company came to an abrupt end when she quit her job after her wedding to Kennedy Jr. in 1996.
Hulu and FX’s Love Story series, based on Elizabeth Beller’s novel Once Upon a Time: The Charming Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, portrays Klein as the person who first introduced Bessette to the Kennedy heir.
Episode 6 depicts the heartbreaking moment when Bessette (Sara Pidgeon) tells Klein (Alessandro Nivola) that she is retiring.
“I hope you know how deeply grateful I am to you, for your guidance and friendship, for changing my life,” she says. “You saw something in me and nurtured it, and for that I am truly grateful.
“I think it has become clear that I can no longer serve you or this company in the way that we both desire.”
Klein was surprised and told her he didn’t think that was the destination of the conversation.
“I think my being here has become a bit of a distraction. All of my job is to promote your work, but I don’t get to do it to the best of my ability,” she explains.
Bessette went on to explain that she knows the turmoil surrounding her relationship is only “temporary,” but Klein disagrees.
“Don’t take it lightly, Carolyn. You are every woman’s dream come true. America’s son chose you. This is not a momentary feat, it’s a masterstroke,” he gushed, later adding that he was “dazzled.”
Bessette apologizes before walking out and leaving for good. The scene ends with Klein berating her for choosing her friend Narciso Rodriguez to design her wedding dress over him.
Thursday night’s episode sees Bessette struggling with the aftermath of quitting her job and feeling lost after losing her public relations job. Bessette then goes for an interview with Klein’s rival Ralph Lauren, but is followed by paparazzi on her way to the interview.
While Bessette grapples with her new life as Mrs. Kennedy, her husband has issues with the magazine, ranging from financial setbacks to disagreements with co-founder Michael J. Berman over the monthly magazine’s creative direction.
George Magazine’s final issue was published in January 2001, two years after Kennedy Jr. and Bessette died in a tragic 1999 plane crash. He was 38 years old and she was 33.
