INSIDE THEIR COMPLICATED LOVE AFFAIR

As the 25th anniversary of the deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette approaches, Us sheds new light on the storied marriage between the dashing political heir and his gorgeous wife

- JAIME HARKIN

In March of 1998, John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, attended the wedding of friends Betsy Reisinger and Kenan Siegel in Miami. Photos from the event show the couple wrapped in a tight embrace, with Bessette's arms around Kennedy's neck, her head tilted back as she laughs with abandon. "Carolyn and John were deeply in love and in love with life," Betsy recalls in the new book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, written by Elizabeth Beller. "That is how I remember them." Just sixteen months later, Bessette and Kennedy would tragically die when the single-engine plane Kennedy was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass., on July 16, 1999.

(Kennedy, 38, Bessette, 33, and her sister, Lauren, 34, perished instantly.) Much has been said about the couple; the romance between the charming and handsome son of former President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, and the stunning and chic Calvin Klein publicist captivated the nation like few others before or since.

Despite reports the pair-who wed in 1996 were headed for a split prior to their untimely deaths, new revelations tell a different, more nuanced story of their complicated, passionate and enduring relationship.

They were in therapy together and were talking about starting a family.

"Toward the end of their lives, they had managed to reach this kind of rapprochement," The Day John Died author Christopher Andersen tells Us. "Whatever friction was there was being dealt with."

DRAWN TOGETHER