How Carolyn Bessette Pulled the Ultimate Feminist Power Move on J.F.K., Jr., After He Proposed
It’s a controversial Seinfeld episode that best encapsulates the fervor surrounding John F. Kennedy, Jr., in the ’90s. After Elaine spots him in her aerobics class, she becomes obsessed: timing her exit from the gym to line up with his, pretending to live in Jerry’s building in order to split a cab, getting blowouts before her workouts, and, of course, no longer being the “master of her domain.”
It may not be an exaggeration—the president’s son was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1988 and linked to It girls like Brooke Shields, Cindy Crawford, and Daryl Hannah.
But it turns out the woman who landed his heart, Carolyn Bessette, made herself the prize, not the other way around. According to a new story published by People, the Calvin Klein publicist waited to accept his marriage proposal. And supposedly, it drove him crazy.
“She held the proposal off for about three weeks, which I think just made him all the more intent on marrying her,” a source told the magazine. Reportedly, she did love him, but “didn’t want to make any specific plans.”
They did end up together, and the rest is tragic history. However, let’s take a moment to appreciate Bessette’s ultimate power move. She totally left Kennedy, America’s prince and most eligible bachelor, hanging! She didn’t care that he had a million other women dying to date him or the bluest bloodline in the United States. She just wanted to make sure that it was right for her, and she needed some time to think about it. That takes gumption, confidence, and some serious self-respect.
In fact, we’re going to go as far to say we should all be taking a page out of the Bessette playbook. Kate Middleton famously did, when she told the press that Prince William was “lucky to be going out with me.” Relationships are all about being equals, and each person is worth the same amount as the other—even if they are political or actual royalty.
This story originally appeared on Vogue.
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