RHONY Returnee Carole Radziwill’s JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Connection ExplainedAmy DeVoreTue, March 3, 2026 at 7:16 PM UTC

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Photo Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

It’s been a long time since Carole Radziwill last walked into The Regency Bar & Grill on Real Housewives of New York. But when Season 16 debuts, there she’ll be, plus or minus the Upper East Side bar part. Carole was always an interesting character on RHONY, especially when you consider her close ties with the late John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

There’s always been an air of intrigue with the Kennedys, so much so that Hulu’s currently airing a docudrama titled Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Likewise, later this year, Netflix will start production on Kennedy, yet another series centered around this famous family. Even Carole’s documented JFK. Jr and Carolyn’s lives and untimely deaths in her 2005 memoir, What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love. But how does Carole even know these people? I can explain.

How is RHONY cast member Carole Radziwill connected to JFK Jr.?

Photo Credit: Rich Polk/Bravo

Carole met the Kennedys through her late husband, Prince Anthony Radziwill. Anthony was JFK Jr.’s first cousin. Blood relations aside, Anthony was also one of JFK Jr.’s closest friends.

To explain their lineage, Anthony’s mom was Lee Radziwill, an American socialite. His father was a Polish Prince named Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł. So, how does this family tie into the Kennedys? Easy, Lee’s older sister was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, who later became Jacqueline Kennedy following her marriage to John F. Kennedy in 1953.

In 1959, Lee and Stanisław welcomed Prince Anthony into their fold. In 1960, Jacqueline and JFK had their son, JFK. Jr. Seeing as how close they were in age while also being related, Anthony and JFK Jr. were quite close. Therefore, when Carole married Anthony in 1994, she also grew tight with JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn.

In 1999, JFK Jr., Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were all killed in a tragic plane crash. Only a handful of weeks later, Carole’s husband joined them in death following his prolonged battle with cancer. Carole never remarried, but when she joined RHONY in 2012, she did, at least, enjoy an extended fling with Adam Kenworthy, the then-private chef of her costar, Luann de Lesseps.

Carole Radziwill has often reflected on her connection to the Kennedys, including Carolyn Bessette

Photo Credit: Gabe Ginsberg/Bravo

On RHONY, Carole recalled her ties to the Kennedy family, including Carolyn, who married into this family in 1996 via her wedding to JFK Jr. Before filming ever started, Carole made it very clear that she didn’t want her entire narrative to be Kennedy-related.

As Carole explained, “I was not going to go in and exploit my late husband’s family or the Kennedy family.” So, minus “the history package in the first season or the second season, when you had to explain who you were, I never said anything about the Kennedy family,” she stressed. Too bad her costars didn’t have this same energy.

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“I remember Sonja [Morgan] one year was saying, I partied with John John or some stupid thing,” Carole said. But Carole didn’t “like to hear that because A, it’s not true. And B, no one who knew him really called him John John.”

But last year, CNN released a three-part series called American Prince: JFK Jr, and here, Carole rawly admitted, “All I could think of [when John, Carolyn, and Anthony died] was, I’m going to be the only one [of us] left.” On her friendship with Carolyn, Carole further shared, “She was so extraordinary in so many ways. We were in our late 20s at the time, and she was the first girl I ever knew who was, like, this much overused expression, ‘girl’s girl.’ She was so beautiful.”

Carole Radziwill will return to RHONY Season 16

Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo

Carole left RHONY after Season 10. But when Season 16 rolls into town, she’s baacccck! This time, however, Carole’s taking baby steps. Instead of coming on in a full-time role, Carole’s filming as a friend of the cast, so she’s only a part-timer (for now).

Following a year-long hiatus for this franchise, many fans wondered how this series might continue. But now, by interjecting Carole back into the mix, this formerly rebooted city might spring back into life.

Rumor has it that Carole will be joined by Erin Lichy, Sai De Silva, and Jessel Taank. On the flip side, Jenna Lyons, Brynn Whitfield, and Racquel Chevremont are out. As for the rumored newbies, those slots allegedly belong to Daisy Toye, a makeup artist of Martha Stewart’s, Hailey Glassman, who previously dated Jon Gosselin, and Erika Hammond, a former WWE star.

How Carole might tie into this group, no one knows. But consider me excited when RHONY Season 16 debuts later this year.

The Real Housewives of New York is streaming on Peacock.

TELL US – ARE YOU EXCITED TO SEE CAROLE BACK ON RHONY? DO YOU REMEMBER CAROLE TALKING ABOUT HER TIES TO THE KENNEDYS?

The post RHONY Returnee Carole Radziwill’s JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Connection Explained appeared first on Reality Tea.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”