July 19,2000 - Who
Star-crossed
A US tabloid sparks a furore by claiming JFK JR and Carolyn Bessette's happy marriage was a sham
It's no secret John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette were not always
the perfect couple depicted in US magazines. But even Americans who
know that the Camelot myth is built on flimsy foundations were shocked
last week when they picked up the Star and saw the union portrayed as a marriage from hell.
The tabloid published what it says are details from Kennedy's personal
journals, as seen by a "confidante" of JFK Jr, who, at 38, died with
wife Carolyn Bessette, 33, and her sister Lauren Bessette, 34, when his
plane crashed off Martha's Vineyard last July. The anonymous source
says the journals revealed that Kennedy planned to end his marriage:
"This is it, man. I think I'm going to divorce Carolyn."
The diaries, the friend told the Star,
portrayed Bessette as a heavy cocaine user. "One minute she's up and
happy and the next she's mean and angry. Carolyn and her gay friends
are snorting more and more cocaine."
The journals' authenticity is being given credence because Star owner David Pecker helped launch Kennedy's George
magazine in 1995. "Pecker was close to John," says an insider, "to
Carolyn also. So it's unlikely he'd publish [negative gossip] about
them unless there was good reason."
Kennedy and Bessette's friends are divided. One, John Perry Barlow,
says that to his knowledge Kennedy "did not keep a diary" and, anyway,
the two were in love. Their marriage "was tumultuous, but in a great
way." He knew them as "passionate people, both highly emotional."
Barlow also says Bessette was no drug abuser. "I don't believe she took
anything stronger than antidepressants to cope with the paparazzi. She
was under duress."
Another friend disagrees. "She was taking drugs. That was well-known in
the fashion community." But this friend doubts Bessette was having an
affair. "She was into control and manipulation, not sex."
Star editor-in-chief Tony Frost says one of Kennedy's uncles
verified he kept diaries, and sources "close to JFK Jr saw him jot down
thoughts, opinions and feelings … They recall remarks he made about his
writings." So, says Frost, "we stand by this story."
`SHELLI-ANNE COUCH