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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New York City

Carole Radziwill Is Going Deeper Than Ever Before About Her Bond with the Kennedys and Her Life Before Real Housewives

The journalist and RHONY alum is spilling secrets about her friendship with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

By Jocelyn Vena
Carole Remembers Her Late Husband

Carole Radziwill is opening up more than ever before about her tight-knit bond with Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr., the cousin to her late husband Anthony Radziwill. She opened up about the New York power couple's super-secret 1996 wedding on Georgia's Cumberland Island in a recent special, The Last Days of JFK Jr.

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"It was a very simple wedding — there was no extravagant band or orchestra or catering," she revealed in a clip she posted to Instagram. Writer J. Randy Taraborrelli also recalled in the special how Carole and Caroline worked together to keep the nuptials as private as possible — going to an office space together to print out the wedding programs to avoid any details being leaked.

Carole, who exited The Real Housewives of New York City last summer, further detailed her bond with the couple in a recent interview with PEOPLE, noting how her husband's cancer battle — and their commitment to being by his side through it — affected their marriage.

"To say their marriage was on the rocks is just inaccurate," Carole told PEOPLE, via E! News. (He passed away in August 1999, shortly after his cousin's tragic death. More on that in the video above.) "Anthony's impending death was a strain on their marriage, no doubt. But it was a difficult time for all of us. If it weren't, we would be inhuman." 

John and Carolyn died tragically in a plane crash in July 1999, along her sister Lauren Bessette. And Carole was one of their close pals who received the news of the tragedy along with his assistant and ABC News consultant RoseMarie Terenzio. Terenzio recalled, “I said ‘Carole, it’s Rose[;] what’s going on?’ And she said, ‘They haven’t landed, they’re not here. Something’s wrong.' I said ‘no nothing’s wrong, what do you mean they haven’t landed?’”

Carole then noted that by 2 a.m., “there was nothing left to do.”

Further proof that nearly two decades later the RHONY alum remains forever bonded to Carolyn is the fact that her late pal popped up as one of her top nine photos of 2018 on Instagram. Carole captioned the original post of the smirking blonde publicist and fashion icon with this tribute: "I was going through old photos and came upon this beautiful soul. Best friend. Best smile. Best girl. 1966-1999."

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