Carole Radziwill returns to the “Real Housewives of New York City” this season, and she has already had a dinner table conversation that is turning heads because of her blunt take on a fashion trend linked to Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, her late friend and cousin by marriage.
Her reaction to costar Jessel Taank bringing up “Carolyn Bessette Summer” was featured on the Sept. 15 episode, and it was not one fans may have seen coming.
The trend, inspired by Bessette-Kennedy’s famous minimalist style, has emerged amid renewed interest in her following FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”
Carole Radziwill Has Little ‘Love’ for the Carolyn Bessette Trend
In a PEOPLE-exclusive clip, Radziwill is asked by Taank what she thinks of the trend, with the latter pointing out that “everyone’s dressing minimal again.” Radziwill doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I don’t love that. I don’t. What is that?” she responds.
Taank then explains that the look is a return to a minimalist, Calvin Klein-inspired aesthetic built around black, white and neutral colors. She points to Radziwill’s outfit at the dinner, a blazer over a white T-shirt, as an example of the style.
Taank adds that she had worn black and white herself the previous day and joked at the time that she was having a “Carolyn Bessette Summer.” “No, I don’t think you should do that,” Radziwill tells her.
In her confessional, Taank jokes that she would feel differently if people someday started dressing for a “Jessel Taank Summer,” saying she would be thrilled to see them wearing outrageous couture and jewels.
Carole Radziwill and Carolyn Bessette Were Close Friends
Radziwill’s reaction carries an unusual personal dimension because she and Bessette-Kennedy were close friends and cousins by marriage. Radziwill was married to Anthony Radziwill, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s cousin and best man at his secret 1996 wedding to Bessette-Kennedy.
Radziwill first met JFK Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy during a 1992 trip to the Hamptons, where the two couples rented a house together. According to Radziwill, she and Bessette-Kennedy became friends almost immediately.
“She was very friendly,” Radziwill recalled in a 2005 interview with PEOPLE. “She came right over to me as though she knew me and put her hand on my shoulder and asked if I had an extra toothbrush.”
Radziwill has also spoken about just how close the four became. In a 2005 interview with The Telegraph, she described their bond as exceptionally close and reflected on how deeply the deaths of JFK Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy affected her.
That history gives Radziwill’s reaction to “Carolyn Bessette Summer” a more personal dimension than a typical celebrity critique of a fashion trend. However, Radziwill did not explain whether their friendship was the reason she disliked the trend.
Carole Radziwill Has Spoken Out About Carolyn’s Story Being Retold
This is not the first time Radziwill has shared her thoughts amid the renewed attention surrounding Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr.’s relationship. Radziwill was not portrayed in FX’s retelling of their relationship, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” though she has not publicly addressed her absence from the series.
However, Radziwill has been candid about her feelings toward the continued retelling of the couple’s story. In a February 2026 Substack post, Radziwill wrote about the enduring fascination surrounding the couple and the questions she continued to receive from people wanting her to confirm what was true about their lives.
She described their story as one that continues to be “reinvented” and “embroidered,” with supposed details coming from people who weren’t there. Radziwill added that she is now “at peace with it all” and no longer worries about “misrepresentations, false narratives or bent truths.”
She also said she would not be watching the FX series herself, though she encouraged others to watch and discover the couple’s story. Now, her return to “RHONY” is giving viewers another glimpse at Radziwill’s perspective on the renewed cultural fascination surrounding a woman she knew personally.
