John F. Kennedy Jr barged into the house of man who kissed wife Carolyn Bessette at 2 am and punched him, says new book
John F. Kennedy Jr. was so furious that his wife had kissed another man that he barged into his house at 2 am to punch him, according to a new book on the Kennedys.
Carolyn Bessette reportedly left him in a furious state after confessing to kissing a friend of hers. The incident reportedly occurred when the duo's marriage was beginning to crumble, according to 'The Kennedy Heirs' written by J. Randy Taraborrelli.
Bessette reportedly suffered immense anxiety after marrying America's most famous bachelor. Taraborrelli said that the continuous hounding of media got to her, eventually taking a toll on the couple's marriage.
Kennedy Jr., blessed with the undeniable charisma of his parents — President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis — had the nation enthralled as the lawyer-turned-magazine-editor, romanced celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, and Sarah Jessica Parker until he met Calvin Klein publicist Carolyn Bessette.
Bassette reportedly confided in a male friend from her fashion days about the pressure she felt after marrying Kennedy Jr. in September 1996. The evening spent at the friend's apartment ended in a kiss, Taraborrelli, in an excerpt published in People, wrote, "Carolyn was crying, he was consoling her, and somehow they ended up kissing. It was brief. He remembered, but consensual."
“Then she pulled away and said, ‘No, what am I doing, I can’t be here right now.’ and quickly left," the book states. The next day Bessette told her friend that she felt she had to tell Kennedy Jr. about the incident.
The friend was awakened at 2 am two days later by the intercom with someone claiming to be a police officer. He opened the door "to find John Kennedy, his face twisted in anger.” Before he could say a word, Kennedy Jr. punched him and told him: “Stay away from my goddamn wife.”
According to the book, soon after this incident, Kennedy Jr. and Bessette entered couples counseling.
The author also wrote that the couple was found snorting coke at the apartment of John’s cousin Anthony Radziwill by a friend. John, however, shrugged it off and blamed it on press attention: "It’s been a bad week … Look I’m a Kennedy. Do you think this is the first time I’ve done drugs? Please.” He then laid his head on Bessette's lap as she stroked his hair.
The author reportedly spoke to Kennedy Jr. 's friend, John Perry Barlow, the Grateful Dead lyricist who died last year, who said that they used to do acid and ecstasy together for years. Kennedy Jr. and Bessette, however, did not have any drug issues, Taraborelli said.
The political scion was captivated by 30-year-old Bessette when he first met her and was intent on marrying her. He did so after over a year of courting. Kennedy Jr. whisked Bessette off to Georgia's Cumberland Island for a top-secret ceremony at the First African Baptist Church where they wed in the presence of their family members. Their fairytale romance, however, was destined to have a tragic end as the couple died in a plane crash nearly three years later.
Kennedy Jr. was flying a single-engine Piper Saratoga on July 16, 1999, heading to the wedding of his cousin Rory Kennedy, when the aircraft slipped off the radar. A frantic five-day search and rescue operation was launched which resulted in President Bill Clinton facing heat for expending resources to find three private citizens.
The wreckage of the plane was eventually discovered with the bodies of Kennedy Jr., Bessette and her sister Lauren Bessette still inside the aircraft. The lawyer-turned-magazine-editor was 38 at the time of his death.