It’s been twenty-seven years since New York’s “it” couple walked down the streets of Tribeca with their dog, Friday. While it feels not too long ago, it can be hard to see JFK Jr playing football at Central Park, or to imagine Carolyn Bessette getting her classic hairbands at C.O Bigelow. However, the new show Love Story – which retells the history of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy – has made viewers feel like they were just here yesterday. 

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was just a normal girl from Connecticut who worked for Calvin Klein in New York. In fact, she wasn’t famous or known, not until JFK Jr came along, changing her whole life. Bringing back JFK Jr and Carolyn’s relationship to the screen, Love Story is introducing the tale to a new set of eyes whilst allowing others a chance to re-live a nostalgic time. One person with thoughts on the new show is Vivien Rosen, a sophomore who admires Carolyn’s effortless style and the way she asserts herself. However, before watching, Carolyn was a nobody to her: “I didn’t know much about CBK before the show, but after watching and getting to know her, I am super inspired by her, and I think that she is such an amazing person.” Confident, gorgeous and cool are just some of the adjectives Clinton students can describe Carolyn as. For most Clinton students like Vivien, the show provided a first impression of her. However, for others like Valerie Tullio — a model agent in the city since the 90s — it isn’t.

Valerie Tullio — my mother — has been working in the fashion industry for thirty years. Until the show, I hadn’t known about her conversation with Carolyn. It all started when Valerie began her career as a model agent at Pauline’s Model Management, where she spoke with Carolyn through the phone. Recalling that one phone call brings her back to a high-tension interaction. One would think talking to Carolyn Bessette, an icon, would make one’s life complete. Yet, Valerie recalls that “Carolyn could come across as strict, but that is only because I knew of her from a very stressful workplace.” Even though the show can make Carolyn seem amazing, she was really just a person, a friend to others, a daughter, a sister, and to Valerie, a client. 

For the younger generations, the show is a window into what Carolyn may have been like before she met JFK Jr. During the 90s, people hadn’t known that girl with wavy hair and no makeup, and only ever saw Carolyn as polished and perfected. This makes the upcoming episodes for Valerie and other people who lived through the 90’s interesting. Valerie said: “I am curious about their love story because it was so on and off that when they got married, we all kind of got bored of them and stopped paying much attention.” Love Story captures what people from the 90s missed, and the part of Carolyn they hadn’t seen.

Besides Carolyn-Bessette and JFK Jr, Clinton students are seeing what New York looked like back in the 90’s. Vivienne Wilcoxson, a sophomore whose experience allowed for new insight, said “The show has impacted the way I view New York City, because I realized how much it changed over the years.” In the 90s, everyone in New York had their own sense of style and it was an exciting time. New York City is still a loveable city but there were experiences in the 90s that won’t be seen today”. 

Central Park, Tribeca, and the familiar yellow cars can be a way New Yorkers relate to Carolyn and John. Julia Passarella, a sophomore said, “Carolyn and John didn’t live in a fancy wonder world, despite their fame they lived in the same city I walk and breathe in every day.” That connection of just having been on the same cement can make them feel closer every time you watch. Every Clinton student can have a connection to CBK and JKF Jr, and that connection is the city. Valerie has an even bigger connection and is brought back to the places she once loved. Imagine being brought back to a time you remembered as pure happiness and enjoyment. Valerie said, “it is fun to see the old New York again, that time of my life, seeing the Indian restaurant JFK Jr and Carolyn went to, and the old clubs like Nells, The Tunnel, and Twilo.” Love Story is undoubtedly a mix of nostalgia and nuance for all the different kinds of eyes watching. Watch the show with your parents, and you never know if you might get a fun story time about the past or learn something new.