Martha Stewart is reflecting on a conversation she says she had with John F. Kennedy Jr. just days before the 1999 plane crash that killed him, his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and her sister, Lauren Bessette.
During the season 16 premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City, Stewart, 85, told makeup artist and new cast member Daisy Toye that she had dinner with Kennedy Jr. the Monday before the Friday crash.
Stewart said Kennedy Jr. reached out to her because he wanted advice about George, the magazine he had founded, while she was running Martha Stewart Living.
According to Stewart, the two had “a very nice dinner” and discussed his upcoming trip to Martha’s Vineyard, where he planned to attend a wedding with Carolyn and Lauren.
That was when Stewart says she asked who would be flying the plane.
“I said, ‘Well, who’s flying?’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘I’m flying.’ I said, ‘You have a copilot, right?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t need a copilot.’”
Stewart said the exchange has stayed with her for years.
“I’ve thought about that so many times, that I told him to get a copilot,” she said.
Kennedy Jr., Carolyn and Lauren died in July 1999 when the plane he was piloting crashed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
Their lives and Kennedy Jr.’s relationship with Carolyn have recently returned to the spotlight through Ryan Murphy’s FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, which premiered in February.
The dramatized series has also sparked emotional reactions from people who knew the couple personally.
Former RHONY star Carole Radziwill, who was married to Kennedy Jr.’s cousin Anthony Radziwill, said the renewed attention surrounding that period of her life was difficult.
Carole said the timing of Love Story coincided with her return to RHONY, making the experience especially emotional. She explained that much of what she wanted to say about that chapter of her life was already included in her memoir, What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love.
She also teased that those emotions will continue to surface throughout the current season of the Bravo series.
The Real Housewives of New York City airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
