Twenty years after John F. Kennedy Jr.’s death, a new book is shedding light on the personal struggles that defined his final months.
According to longtime friend and historian Steven Gillon, JFK Jr. was at a crossroads at the time of the 1999 plane crash. At the center of his turmoil was his rocky marriage to Carolyn Bessette.
Gillon, author of *America’s Reluctant Prince*, interviewed many of John’s closest friends, some of whom had never spoken publicly before. The picture that emerges is of a couple in constant conflict.
“They were constantly bickering and fighting and over a whole series of things, whether or not to have a family,” Gillon said.
The strain was severe enough that John confided in others about the possibility of divorce. “John in that last year told some people that he was thinking about getting a divorce,” Gillon noted. “We’ll never know whether or not they would have worked out their differences.”
The book also reveals the root cause of the infamous fight between the couple in New York’s Battery Park before their wedding. According to Gillon, they were feuding over Carolyn’s ongoing complaint that John let people walk all over him.
Yet when it came to protecting Carolyn herself, John was fierce. Gillon recounts that John would not hesitate to confront anyone who disrespected her, even in casual settings.
The author also describes John’s complicated relationship with the media. He found the press intrusive, but he also had a knack for staying in the spotlight. “If he wasn't in the news for a little while, he'd find a way to get into it,” Gillon said, pointing out that it was no coincidence John would be seen in Central Park without his shirt.
At the same time, John was beginning to embrace his family’s political legacy. “There's no doubt that John in the last couple years of his life was considering going into politics,” Gillon said.
The book includes one of the last photos ever taken of JFK Jr., just four days before the crash. In the image, he is in Toronto with a businessman considering an investment in his magazine, *George*. He is holding crutches, having broken his ankle in a paragliding accident.
Gillon, who first met John at Brown University, explained why he waited two decades to publish the book. “Like most of John's friends while he was alive, I protected his privacy,” he said. “And now I feel as his friend and also as an historian that I have a responsibility to preserve his legacy.”
He added: “John was an incredibly decent, down-to-earth, unpretentious guy.”