Daryl Hannah Breaks Silence on “Appalling” Love Story Portrayal

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Ryan Murphy’s art doesn’t imitate Daryl Hannah’s life.

As someone who follows celebrity narratives closely, I’ve been watching the buzz around FX’s ‘Love Story.’ It’s interesting to see Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy finally speaking out about how the series portrays her and the end of her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. It’s a brave move to address a depiction of such a personal part of her life, and I think it’s important to hear her perspective.

In a recent opinion piece for The New York Times, a woman wrote about a new TV series dramatizing the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. She stated that the series uses her name and depicts a character based on her, and that the character is intentionally portrayed as annoying, self-centered, and unpleasant.

Daryl claimed the show portrayed her unfairly to create a romantic storyline between JFK Jr. and Carolyn.

Good stories need conflict and challenges. However, people aren’t just plot devices. There’s also a harmful pattern in how women are portrayed: popular culture frequently pits women against each other, boosting one by casting another as an enemy or obstacle. This practice essentially relies on sexist ideas to elevate one woman at the expense of another.

She stated that the portrayal of ‘Daryl Hannah’ in the series doesn’t reflect her life, how she acted, or her relationship with John. She also insisted that the actions shown are simply not true.

The former star of Splash, who dated John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s youngest child on and off between 1988 and 1994, has criticized certain parts of a show that she feels portray her life negatively.

She stated firmly that she has never used cocaine, hosted parties where drugs were used, or pressured anyone to get married. She also denied ever damaging a family treasure, disrespecting a private memorial, leaking false information to the media, or making an insensitive comparison between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s death and the loss of a pet.

She was deeply upset that she even had to justify herself against claims made by a TV show. She explained that the show wasn’t just exaggerating her personality; it was falsely accusing her of wrongdoing.

TopMob News has reached out to Ryan and FX but have not heard back. 

She explained her decision to speak up now by referencing advice she’d received from her ex-boyfriend’s mother about navigating public life, and how that landscape has changed recently.

She explained that even though tabloids, magazines, and newspapers frequently printed false stories, those stories quickly became irrelevant. She used to find those words comforting, but now she doesn’t believe them anymore.

Daryl, who married Neil Young in 2018, recently talked about the negative reactions she’s received from fans of the movie Love Story.

Since the show came out, I’ve gotten a lot of angry and threatening messages from viewers who think what they saw was real,” she explained. “Using a real person’s name in a fictional story can really damage their reputation forever.”

Ultimately, Daryl urged viewers of the show – which has also received criticism from Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s nephew – to be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

People often accept what they see on television as truth, blurring the line between fictional stories and actual events—and this has real-world consequences. In today’s digital age, entertainment frequently shapes how we remember things collectively. It’s important to remember that real people’s names aren’t just plot devices; they represent actual lives.

For more on what’s fact vs. fiction in Love Story, keep reading…

In the movie Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, Carolyn (played by Sarah Pidgeon) advises Annette Bening (played by Megan Channell) to wear a Calvin Klein suit instead of the dress the designer chose for her, for the Bugsy premiere.

It’s unknown if she created the look for future Mrs. Warren Beatty, but a 1996 New York Times article revealed Carolyn was the preferred salesperson for Calvin Klein’s famous customers, like Annette, Diane Sawyer, and Blaire Trump.

According to Paul Wilmott, who was Calvin Klein’s VP of public relations at the time, she expertly helped customers select clothes, offering advice on what suited them and how to create complete outfits. He described it as a fantastic service, noting that she generated millions of dollars in clothing sales over the years.

As a lifestyle expert, I always appreciate a good power move, and there’s a fantastic scene in Love Story where Carolyn demonstrates her knack for PR. She basically tells Calvin – Alessandro Nivola, you might recognize him – to book Kate Moss for their campaign. It’s a brilliant suggestion that really highlights her understanding of what works!

Carolyn was one of the first people to recognize Kate Moss’s potential, and she played a key role in shaping the Calvin Klein image of the 1990s.

In the movie Love Story, Calvin brings Carolyn and John together at a charity event in 1992, and they immediately feel a connection. However, Carolyn playfully declines to give him her phone number, reminding him that he can easily reach her at work.

“He was simply bored,” Carolyn explained to her friends at the nightclub as Michael Bergin, known to them as the “sexy doorman” and sometimes her boyfriend, Noah Fearnley, arrived.

John surprisingly appeared at Calvin Klein and requested a private fitting with Carolyn. He then invited her to dinner, and when he left, her coworkers were completely shocked and excited.

According to Elizabeth Beller’s 2024 biography, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy first met in the spring of 1992. He was at Calvin Klein for a private fitting, and her coworkers were reportedly very excited. John then invited Carolyn to join him at a gala, but she initially thought another woman was his date and declined. MJ Bettenhausen, a friend of Carolyn’s, shared this story with Beller, noting that Carolyn also turned down his invitation to an after-party.

Carolyn and Michael, a model who previously worked as a hotel doorman, casually dated starting in the fall of 1992, but their relationship was more of an on-again, off-again thing, according to Beller’s book.

As a longtime follower of this case, I remember being shocked when Bergin claimed in his 2004 book, The Other Man, that he and Carolyn continued a sexual relationship all the way until her death – even after she’d met John. But a lot of Carolyn’s friends didn’t believe it, and Beller pointed that out, saying their doubts were widely held.

In the movie Love Story, Carolyn is waiting at an Indian restaurant for John. She’s about to leave after waiting for 20 minutes when he finally arrives, riding up on his bicycle.

He accidentally left the car unlocked, and when they finished their long date, they discovered it had been stolen. This meant he ended up walking Carolyn home instead.

He said he wished he hadn’t felt so rushed as they reached her doorstep. She asked what he meant, and he leaned in to kiss her. He then wondered if he’d see her again, and she replied that she’d enjoyed their evening together before ending the date.

In real life, John and this person did go on a first date, and it’s possible he biked there and was a little late. However, the scene of them connecting over drinks was likely staged for the show.

Daryl Hannah (played by Dree Hemingway) is at John’s apartment when he returns home. He’s just been telling his cousin and best friend, Anthony Radziwill (Erich Bergen), that all he wants to do is call Carolyn.

He’s planning to take Daryl to a wedding in October 1993 – his cousin Edward Kennedy Jr.’s – despite his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, being strongly against it. Meanwhile, Carolyn discovers through a tabloid magazine that the man who seemed so interested in her is actually getting back together with his famous ex-girlfriend.

John continued to send Carolyn flowers, and eventually confessed to her at an event that he was struggling because he thought she disliked him. Carolyn responded that she didn’t know him well enough to feel any hatred towards him.

The unexpected meeting was a striking way to introduce the star of Splash in Love Story. However, the producers didn’t consult Daryl, who has been married to Neil Young since 2018.

Producer Nina Jacobson explained to Gold Derby that they focus on understanding characters deeply. She said it’s difficult to prioritize multiple storylines when basing them on real people, so they generally avoid doing that unless absolutely necessary.

Daryl acts as a challenge to what the story needs, according to Jacobson, but the writers still acknowledge her deep understanding of the celebrity world – something Carolyn lacks.

When John walks in and sees Daryl hanging out with her eccentric friends, it’s a clear signal that big changes are coming. She ultimately decides to leave him, pushing him to think about what he truly desires.

Daryl promised to come back for her dog, Hank. However, while John was walking Hank, he was distracted by a fan asking for an autograph. He accidentally dropped the leash, and tragically, Hank was hit by a taxi and killed. John then traveled to Los Angeles to return Hank’s ashes to Daryl.

According to the 2024 book JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s friend, Sasha Chermayeff, recounted that John’s dog, Hank, ran into traffic in Central Park and was hit by a car in May 1994.

According to his friend Steven Gillon, he traveled to Los Angeles to bury a dog. While he was there, his mother’s health suddenly worsened. He felt very upset that Daryl had made him attend the dog’s funeral when his own mother was seriously ill with cancer.

In the movie Love Story, Jackie (played by Naomi Watts) leaves a voicemail for John while he’s flying, and then collapses at home. This scene was created for dramatic impact, but it’s also meant to emphasize how seriously ill the former First Lady was after her diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 1993. She passed away on May 19, 1994.

You know, after that disastrous gala, John and Carolyn didn’t cross paths again for quite a while. It wasn’t until May 18th, 1992, at a charity fundraiser, that they finally ran into each other again. It’s funny how life works, isn’t it?

Oh my gosh, it’s just so tragic! They totally clicked right away and had this amazing summer romance, but then things faded for almost two whole years, according to everything I’ve read. It’s like fate intervened – they didn’t really get together, truly together, until after Jackie was gone. It’s heartbreaking, but also… perfect, in a way. They were meant to be, but everything had to align, you know?

According to executive producer Brad Simpson, the couple’s relationship had more ups and downs than the show could realistically portray. They decided to move the storyline forward because they didn’t think viewers wanted to watch the characters repeatedly breaking up and getting back together, as he told USA Today.

When he brings Carolyn home to his loft for the first time, John realizes he forgot his keys.

Although it looked good on television, the real John was often forgetful and frequently misplaced his keys and wallet. This habit eventually made Carolyn hesitant to fly with him by himself after he earned his pilot’s license.

Beyond that hint of what’s to come, John doesn’t mention the true nature of the party when he invites Carolyn. He tells her it’s a party at his sister Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg’s house, but it’s actually a formal dinner celebrating Caroline’s birthday.

When John’s behavior worries Carolyn, his wife, Caroline (Grace Gummer) quickly explains that he’s just forgetful, not intentionally rude or inconsiderate towards others.

According to Carole Radziwill’s memoir, What Remains, John introduced Carolyn to his sister on her 37th birthday, November 27, 1994. The event, held at Carolyn’s Park Avenue apartment, was more of a party than a formal dinner.

The former Real Housewives star, who attended with Anthony and was excited to see Carolyn, described her friend as entering the secure room looking bright and uniquely herself, and acting warmly and spontaneously.

Caroline embraced John and greeted Carolyn with a friendly “So nice to meet you,” as Carole remembered. Afterward, Carolyn’s friends offered polite smiles before turning their attention back to John.

Contrary to initial impressions, Carolyn and Caroline actually hit it off immediately, according to Beller’s book, Once Upon a Time. A mutual acquaintance who observed them having lunch noted that they seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, with laughter throughout their conversation.

John played touch football with friends and later discovered a letter in his gym bag. The letter claimed Carolyn had used her boss, Calvin Klein, to get a meeting with him because she was interested in a relationship. When Carolyn visited him, John confronted her about the letter, and she was upset he’d even consider it was true, so she left.

After what felt like ages, he finally came to her apartment and admitted he’d made a mistake. This honest conversation led to him telling her he loved her for the very first time.

According to Beller, John did receive a letter outlining rumors about Carolyn’s active social life and relationships, but it happened relatively early in their dating history. The book states that after they dated during the summer of 1992, John abruptly ended things after reading the letter. Carolyn then didn’t accept his apologies for over a year.

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe this! John finally proposed to Carolyn! It happened on a row boat, right after they got back from Hyannis Port. She just met his whole family for the first time, and it was intense – especially meeting his aunt, Ethel Kennedy, played by Jessica Harper, who basically runs everything. She’s the undisputed matriarch, seriously! It was such a perfect, romantic moment, and I’m so happy for them!

Carolyn said she needs some time to consider it, explaining that they have several important things to talk over first.

In 1994, Per Beller and John brought Carolyn to the family’s vacation home for Labor Day weekend. John signed up to help with breakfast that weekend, though Carolyn didn’t join him for the shift.

Terenzio says John proposed to Carolyn while they were on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard over the Fourth of July weekend in 1995. He proposed on a boat, playfully telling her, “Fishing is so much better with a partner.”

He proposed with a diamond and sapphire eternity band. On the show, JFK Jr. claimed it had belonged to his mother, but actually, he had it specially made. He asked Jackie Kennedy’s close friend, Maurice Tempelsman, to design a ring that resembled her famous emerald and sapphire ring—the one she called her “swimming ring.” According to Terenzio, John gave Carolyn both rings.

According to a friend of John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy made him wait around three weeks before she responded to a proposal. While J. Randy Taraborrelli’s 2019 book, American Prince, states she didn’t explicitly say yes but was seen wearing an engagement ring and telling friends of their plans to marry, biographer Lisa Terenzio recalls Carolyn telling her they became engaged over the holiday weekend.

Whether it was before or after they began dating, the couple was engaged for several months leading up to their well-known argument in Washington Square Park in 1996.

Carolyn had a close relationship with her boss, Calvin Klein, and was also good friends with his wife, Kelly Klein, who was a photographer.

I was really struck by a moment in Love Story where Kelly, played by Leila George, challenges Calvin after he tells her she can’t continue working for him. It’s right after a very public announcement – a New York Post cover screaming about JFK Jr.’s proposal – and he’s worried her personal life will overshadow her work. She doesn’t accept that easily, and it’s a powerful scene.

Kelly retorted, “With all due respect, you’re hardly one to talk about keeping things private.” Calvin responded, “You knew what you were getting into from the start.”

The designer unexpectedly asked Kelly to go to a gala with her that night, hinting that they were breaking up with the phrase, “one last time.”

Calvin and Kelly announced they were separating in August 1996. According to columnist Liz Smith, they released a statement saying they remained good friends and had decided to live separately, with mutual respect, and hoped to resolve any differences. Their divorce was finalized in 2006.

Calvin, age 83, has been with his partner, model Kevin Baker, for a decade. Baker is 46 years younger than Calvin.

In the movie Love Story, Carolyn skips John’s press conference where he introduces George magazine. At the event, he reveals the first cover, which features Cindy Crawford playfully dressed as George Washington.

She watched the news from home, understanding that John had to deny proposing to her. She didn’t want the rumors about her rejecting him to distract from the important news about George.

Carolyn deliberately avoided the launch event on September 7, 1995. Terenzio, responsible for releasing a statement to deny engagement rumors sparked by Carolyn’s ring, explained that John and his partner, Michael Berman, believed her attendance would be a distraction, and that she didn’t mind not being there.

John’s friend, Sasha Chermayeff, recalled in an interview that Carolyn seemed deeply upset by John’s public refusal to confirm their engagement. Chermayeff believed this was an early indication of what their relationship would be like – a pattern of John controlling the narrative and Carolyn accepting it.

Honestly, episode five just wrecked me. After a really intense fight – they were really going at it – while they were even walking their dog, John finally proposed to Carolyn. And she said yes, but it wasn’t a happy moment, she was crying! It was so emotional and a bit heartbreaking to watch, but I’m definitely hooked to see what happens next.

The highly publicized fight between the couple on February 25, 1996, became instantly iconic. Details like John appearing to remove Carolyn’s engagement ring, him crying on the curb, and their argument over the dog – with Carolyn famously declaring, “You’ve got my ring, you’re not getting my dog!” – were widely reported and immediately recognizable to the public.

The show revolves around a fight stemming from John being rejected – he angrily claims everything would be fine if she’d just accepted his proposal. However, the audience learns they’d actually been engaged for around five months already. Earlier in the episode, Carolyn privately tries on the ring and seems happy with it, but hasn’t formally said yes before the argument begins.

In her interview, Terenzio remembered that she and her husband often argued because he was being used by his friends.

At a wedding, they found themselves seated beside a reporter from the New York Times who was covering the event for the “Vows” column. According to Terenzio, Carolyn believed it was wrong to put a friend in that position. While she regretted the argument later, she was also upset with John, feeling she’d been trying to shield him from being exploited.

I was completely captivated by the news about Carolyn and John’s public argument – it was everywhere! It was such a surprise, and then Ethel, ever the gracious hostess, decided to invite her nephew’s future wife to spend some time at Hickory Hill. It felt like a really thoughtful gesture, a way to offer support and perhaps smooth things over after all the publicity.

I’ll never forget what Ethel Kennedy told Carolyn. It was brutally honest, but so kind. She basically said, ‘Once trust is broken, you won’t get a second chance, and it’s incredibly unfair.’ She warned Carolyn that these men would hurt her deeply, push her to her limits, and make her want to give up. But her advice, so simply and powerfully, was: don’t. It really stuck with me, a reminder of how things can be, and how to handle them.

Ethel brought Carolyn to her home and, according to J. Randy Taraborelli’s 2019 book, The Kennedy Heirs, told her she needed to ignore the negativity and move forward.

According to a friend who was with Carolyn, Ethel Kennedy once confided that being a member of the Kennedy family came with its challenges. However, the mother of eleven explained that she eventually realized the key to coping was simple: looking in the mirror each day and affirming, ‘I am enough.’ She said this self-acceptance eventually becomes ingrained, and nothing – not even the pressures of the Kennedy family – can take that feeling away.

Ethel advised Carolyn to stay calm in public, explaining that the men they dealt with were quick to anger. She cautioned Carolyn not to let them provoke her into behaving badly where everyone could see.

I was really touched by a scene in the show where Carolyn opened up to her sister, Lauren. She was considering asking Caroline to be her maid of honor, and she explained that it was because Caroline seemed so upset about being left out of the wedding planning. It just showed how much Carolyn is trying to navigate these family dynamics, and it felt like a really genuine moment.

Carolyn worries that her sister feels left out. She believes resolving this is important because she doesn’t want to start her marriage with any lingering resentment.

Lauren says, “This will mean nothing to her. And it would have meant everything to me.”

John asked Carolyn to invite Caroline to be the maid of honor. He hoped this would repair the damage after his sister blamed Carolyn for a public scene and questioned whether they should even get married. John believed it was the best way to ease the tension.

Two weeks after their argument at the park, Carolyn went to Calvin to quit, explaining she was worried her personal issues were interfering with her work. He confessed he was surprised and a little hurt by her decision.

He described her as “a bright light” and assured her she would be well taken care of with Narciso Rodriguez—a former employee—designing her wedding gown. Once she’s gone, he tidies up his design portfolio, and we briefly see a dress sketch tucked away in a drawer.

“Calvin was very upset” when Carolyn quit, a colleague told Beller. “He felt left behind.”

In the movie Love Story, Calvin finds out about the dress because photos of Carolyn with Narciso Tonatiuh and Caroline had surfaced. However, in real life, Carolyn actually quit her job before she started seriously planning a wedding.

Ann Freeman, played by Constance Zimmer, fears Carolyn is losing her identity in her marriage. She confides this worry to Carolyn privately, but surprisingly reveals the same concerns to everyone during a speech at the rehearsal dinner.

Ann described John as overwhelmingly loving and admitted she was concerned about how Carolyn could handle being around someone with such a strong personality. She hopes Carolyn can rely on John to be supportive when she needs him.

John quietly tells his future mother-in-law that her daughter means everything to him.

Although the exact words Ann used that night remain a mystery, John’s friend, Robert Littell, wrote in his memoir, The Men We Became, that she voiced concerns about the marriage, suggesting it could be harmful to their daughter.

And John, he wrote, was “visibly stung by his mother-in-law’s remarks.”

Littell mentioned that while he and a few other guests continued the party on the beach, Carolyn had already gone to bed long before. This means the story in Love Story about John and Carolyn falling asleep together on the beach and going for a swim naked the morning of their wedding was created to be a more romantic scene.

Carolyn panicked when she realized Narciso’s dress didn’t have a zipper and would need to be pulled over her head – after her makeup was already finished!

As a longtime admirer of Carolyn and Terenzio, I was fascinated to read about the details of their wedding day in that oral history. Gogo Ferguson, who crafted their incredible rattlesnake rib wedding bands, described helping Carolyn into her dress as almost unbelievably smooth – like pouring cream! Apparently, Narciso was so focused on getting the fit just right, he was carefully adjusting and even re-sewing parts of it. They were so careful not to disturb her hair and makeup, they even covered her head with a scarf after adjusting the neckline!

Gordon Henderson, a friend of the bride and the designer of the groom’s tuxedo and the groomsmen’s suits, shared with Town & Country that he offered a handkerchief to help the groom feel his best. He explained that when a friend is getting married, you want to do everything you can to ensure they’re happy and the day goes well.

In Beller’s Once Upon a Time, Carolyn needs to completely redo her hair and makeup after she gets dressed.

The ceremony didn’t begin until 7 p.m., later than the originally planned 5 p.m. John was delayed because he couldn’t find his shirt, and since the First African Baptist Church, built in the 1800s, didn’t have electricity, they had to use candles.

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2026-03-06 19:22