TV & Movies
JFK Jr. & Daryl Hannah’s Relationship Timeline Includes Meeting Carolyn Bessette
As seen in Love Story, the two were on and off before Kennedy married his wife.
Ryan Murphy’s new limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette tells the story of the famous late couple in a whole new way — but Bessette isn’t the only love interest involved. The show also depicts parts of Kennedy’s relationship with actor Daryl Hannah, played by Dree Hemingway, which overlapped with the period when he met his future wife.
Prior to his whirlwind romance with Bessette, Kennedy dated Hannah for nearly five years, albeit they were non-exclusive and on-and-off for much of that time. Nonetheless, their relationship sparked a similar media frenzy to the one Kennedy would later experience with Bessette, especially since Hannah was already a household name in Hollywood.
According to Love Story’s version of events, JFK Jr. may have gotten with Bessette a little sooner had Hannah not re-entered the picture not once, but twice, specifically after the 1994 death of his mother, Jackie Kennedy Onassis (who reportedly disapproved of her). However, as their relationship timeline shows, it may not have played out exactly as seen on TV.
1980s: JFK Jr. Meets Daryl Hannah
Kennedy reportedly met Hannah for the first time sometime in the 1980s, when their families were both on vacation in Saint Martin, according to Steven M. Gillon's biography America's Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr. They were apparently introduced by Hannah’s stepfather, who donated to Kennedy’s uncle Ted’s presidential campaign.
1988: Reunited & Sparks Fly
The two ran into each other again at his aunt Lee Radziwill’s wedding to director Herb Ross in 1988. At the time, both of them were still in committed relationships — Hannah with singer/songwriter Jackson Browne and Kennedy with actor Christina Haag — but they reportedly started seeing each other soon thereafter, albeit non-exclusively.
1992: Their First Public Sighting
According to People, the couple reportedly became exclusive in 1992 after Kennedy flew to Los Angeles to be with Hannah after she had a domestic incident with Browne. Soon after, they began making public appearances together, and he reportedly moved into her Upper West Side apartment after bringing her back to New York.
This is also the year JFK Jr. met Bessette at the now-famous Calvin Klein fitting. However, their first date reportedly wasn’t that great, and they wouldn’t reunite seriously for another two years.
1993: Daryl Comments On Marriage Questions
During their relationship, Kennedy and Hannah dealt with constant rumors about marriage plans. In a 1993 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hannah gave a rare comment about the speculation, saying it was starting to affect her.
“It's getting really annoying. I get asked about it all the time,” she said. “This morning, I call up my plumber, and even he asks me. Oh, brother, I'm just trying to get my pipes fixed. Why can't people talk about something else?”
1994: JFK Jr. & Daryl Part Ways
Despite the media speculation, the couple never made it down the aisle, as Kennedy and Hannah split before his mother Jackie’s death in May 1994, around the same time he rekindled his flame with Bessette. However, according to his friend Steve Gillion, JFK Jr. publicly pretended to still be with Hannah to avoid any distractions from his mom’s passing.
“He’s mourning his mom but he’s afraid that if the people know that he’s broken up with Daryl Hannah, the media is going to focus on that, not on his mom’s life,” Gillion claimed in the CNN docuseries American Prince. “So, he went through the pretense of still being together [with Daryl] … just so everybody could see them together.”
