Brown: Carolyn Bessette & Duchess Meghan both ‘fell apart’ because of the media

For years, royal commentators have been comparing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to everyone under the sun, and the comparisons are always designed to ensure that Meghan and Harry come out on the unfavorable end. They’re compared to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson). They’re compared to Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew, Kim Kardashian, and on and on. One comparison which I made early in H&M’s relationship was that Meghan seemed like a Carolyn Bessette Kennedy-type figure, and that Meghan actually styled herself (at times) like Carolyn. Well, years later, Tina Brown is now making the same comparison. Only now Meghan should learn some lessons from Carolyn Bessette, who famously hated everything about being married to a Kennedy prince.

Several royal experts believe Meghan Markle could learn powerful lessons from Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s brief life.

“As we’ve seen with Meghan and Harry, there was quite a lot about Carolyn that was a bit ‘Meghanish,’” former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown said in CNN’s new docuseries “America’s Prince”. Brown compared the two women — one who married into America’s “Camelot” and the other to Britain’s royalty. “That [Carolyn] had…wanted in, for all of these reasons. There was glamour and elegance. But that came with so much pressure in terms of…the monster of the media…that she fell apart really.”

“Tina’s words are a warning to Meghan,” British broadcaster Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. “Meghan has the privilege of time to recognize the gems that she has and carefully plan her future. Life is not just about celebrity and… building an empire. Prioritizing her family and finding her authentic self is the way forward,” Chard shared. “Carolyn sadly didn’t have the opportunity to raise children… Meghan has a husband who adores her, two lovely children and a super comfortable and luxurious home. Family is everything.”

“There are some similarities between Carolyn and Meghan,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “I do think they were admired for their glamour. Both were viewed by the fashion industry as the types to admire and follow. They certainly rose to fame by marrying into iconic families. They both experienced media frenzy based mainly on their respective appearances and personalities. It’s difficult for anyone not born into fame to handle the press hounding. They coped differently, though. Carolyn withdrew completely [from the press], which maintained her mystique. In contrast, Meghan went… on a publicity tour [after her royal exit]. Her raw ambition for recognition and admiration backfired on her. At this juncture, the only proper route for Meghan would be for her to lie low. She’ll never do that, though. Everything that [appears to have] meaning for her is the antithesis of service and devotion to duty.”

When Meghan and Harry first sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a televised interview in 2021, Carole Radziwill said she saw parallels between both women. The 62-year-old, who spoke out in “America’s Prince,” was married to late husband Anthony Radziwill, Kennedy Jr.’s first cousin and the son of Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s younger sister.

“I just watched the M&H sit down. Wow,” the “Real Housewives of New York” alum wrote on X at the time. “I love how people say Meghan knew what she was getting into…people said the same thing about Carolyn Bessette when she married into the Kennedy family. You could never know. Meghan said it right, the perception is nothing like the reality.”

[From Fox News]

I forgot that Radziwill defended Meghan – Radziwill was very close to Carolyn in the 1990s, and their husbands were cousins (who were more like brothers). Anyway, there probably are lessons to be learned from Carolyn’s life, but those lessons are not “Meghan should never go out in public again, she should just be quiet!” The whole reason why Carolyn withdrew from public view for a time was because she f–king hated the paparazzi and the gossip industry around the Kennedys. THAT sounds familiar. But beyond that, Carolyn didn’t work because she didn’t have to – John was wealthy. They always act like they’re so appalled that Meghan works because she likes to work and because she’s supporting herself and her family.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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59 Responses to “Brown: Carolyn Bessette & Duchess Meghan both ‘fell apart’ because of the media”

  1. Tessa says:

    Carolyn should be allowed to rest in peace. Using her to slam Meghan is shameful

    • Starla dear says:

      Exactly. And Meghan should be allowed to live (& thrive) in peace.

      • L4Frimaire says:

        This! She is living her life and taking care of her family. She is a real person in a very unique situation that she has to navigate. She is scrutinized and held to standards higher than most politicians and heads of state. We have no idea.

    • Hypocrisy says:

      My thoughts exactly…

  2. HeatherC says:

    Carolyn, unfortunately, only had to “deal” with the notoriety for a few short years (she was only married to JFK Jr for 3ish years before her death) and while she did deal with scrutiny it was nothing like it is now in the age of social media. Also she didn’t have an entire institution briefing against her. It was easy for Carolyn to withdraw because the Kennedy family is not a real royal family which has duties and “work,” Carolyn also never left the Kennedy family or the USA to escape from hate, death threats, and the rest like Harry and Meghan had to leave the UK and the courtiers/family for their own safety and sanity.

    • MsIam says:

      Carolyn Bessette worked for Calvin Klein and obviously was very into fashion. I could see her starting her own fashion house if she had lived or maybe an accessory line. Or working for a fashion magazine. So this idea that she would have been devoted to service and duty and withdrawn from public life is ridiculous. And how the hell did a program about JFKjr get to be about Meghan? These f*cking people are a real reach.

      • HeatherC says:

        I was coming out of grunge when the whole wedding happened, and I loved her aesthetic. I would have loved to see what she could have come up with.

        And by “work” I meant the “royal work:” show up here for 30 minutes and pretend to care about the commoners. Carolyn, like Meghan, had a work history before she married. She probably would have shown up once or twice for Kennedy things, like Special Olympics (my son is a competitor, I’ll always have a soft spot for the non brain worm Kennedys because of this) and done her own thing.

        I hate how they drag Meghan into everything. I’m waiting for some BM to draw parallels between Selena Gomez’s wedding and Meghan’s wedding (bio dad non involvement). They’re pathetic.

      • Debbie says:

        Your last comment was my thought exactly. I thought this story was about JFK, jr.’s life. Sure, I can see making a passing remark, but they just detoured into Meghan and wallow into accusations about someone unrelated to the main story.

        And it bears repeating that Meghan had a work history and was gainfully employed long before she married Harry. She earned her own money and was very comfortable. By the way, so did Carolyn. How American of them.

      • Crystal says:

        Carolyn worked in Calvin Klein but as a buyer and liaison for high-powered people – she enjoyed the behind the scenes work and hated being a public figure.

  3. Yes she should be allowed to RIP as should QEII but they won’t because the dead people can’t say no this is not true so we will hear more from those who have passed.

  4. Jukia says:

    Why should Meghan have to devote her life to service and duty? She’s a private citizen not a public servant. She should do whatever she wants. Live your life Meghan. Make as much money as you can and be as public as want or as private as you want. It’s your life. I’m glad you are free!

    • Jais says:

      And she is doing what she wants. She posted a clip of her playing mah jong with her girlfriends in Cali. Living the life.

    • lungta says:

      Tina Brown, a has-been juorno, once consider credible, and is now scraping the barrel for a livelihood, by talking bullshit for clickbait.

  5. Me at home says:

    Oh gawd, that awful faker Hilary Fordwich, who doesn’t have the slightest clue what Meghan is thinking. Meghan likes to work, why are you so shocked about that?

  6. Maxine Branch says:

    Meghan has been working since she was a teenager, she has had multiple jobs and I hope she continues to follow her passion doing what she enjoys. Meghan has mentioned before that she prefers working vs sitting around having lunch. The absolute gall of these old women trying to dictate how she lives her life is absolutely ridiculous. This is the 21st century and women are able to in many cases do as they choose. Proud of Meghan for using her voice and proud of her work ethic.

  7. ThatGirlThere says:

    Tina Brown is disgusting. Invoking a woman who was bullied and harassed by the press and then continues to do the same thing to Meghan. She really needs to be called out to her face about her behavior.

    • HillaryIsAlwaysRight says:

      Tina Brown has zero relevance anymore and she knows it. This is all she has as a way to make a living now, gossip about people she knows nothing about.

      • Tessa says:

        Tina’s biography of Diana was nothing to write home about. She claimed “friendship” with Diana based on one lunch. Tina used hearsay about Diana. Her mother gave actual interviews before Tina’s book came out, Tina used hearsay instead of referring to what Diana’s mother said. She was no longer the “insider” once she started that biography of Diana, and it was downhill from there. She is biased. I think she’s hoping for a title.

      • lungta says:

        “In 2010, Brown founded Women in the World, a live journalism platform, to “discover and amplify the unheard voices of global women on the front lines of change.”
        The hypocrisy! She makes a living TRASHING women who are successful on the front line of change!

  8. SussexWatcher says:

    Brown slips up when she says: Meghan’s only choice is to go away and lie low. That’s what this is all about. They (the British media) want her to disappear and be silent, so they can spin whatever narratives they want and earn their living off of Meghan’s back. When Meghan tells her own story it blows up their lies and false narratives. When Meghan receives awards or people watch WLM, it’s an opportunity for Meghan to show her friendly, authentic, and generous self. The rota rats want to tell their lies and not have it refuted. Just like at the beginning of Harry and Meghan’s relationship and marriage.

    • Blujfly says:

      They would prefer her dead, like Diana and Carolyn and John, so they can make the lives they did live, that are set in stone and unalterable, a cottage industry with little rebuke and no concern for libel and defamation claims. No growth to deal with, no regrets, no memoirs, no addressing the past. Just unadulterated exploitation and libel.

  9. Alice B. Tokeless says:

    Where to start? First of all, even if Meghan didn’t like to work, she has no choice because her in-laws have put her and her family in so much permanent danger of loonie tunes seeking “revenge” for the BRF, that their security costs will always be staggering. Fortunately, she likes work and is talented. She has no choice; she has to keep her family safe from the nutters.

    If Tina Brown were any more of a bitch, she’d have puppies.

  10. Dee(2) says:

    “Everything that [appears to have] meaning for her is the antithesis of service and devotion to duty” Like starting a charitable foundation and donating tons of time and money to organizations? I forgot ONLY the British royals can actually do charity, and if you want to earn your own money as an adult and not be subject to the whims of someone else that’s actually you being against duty.

    These people kill me. They devote so much time and attention to analyzing, nitpicking, and comparing someone that they say no one cares about. She should go away? How is she supposed to eat? So basically, unless she’s willing to be a sacrificial lamb for the British royal family to look better she should just hide away. It really destroys these people that she outshines them.

    • jais says:

      Yeah, once again, it’s apparently the RF who are the ones truly committed to service and duty. That’s why they work maybe once a week or less and spend the rest of their time taking away green space from the public for their forever home. Is that the kind of dedication to service and duty that Meghan is lacking? What a farce. This is so inane it highlights what a joke TB is as a royalist masquerading as a critical writer. Like really? Please.

      • Eurydice says:

        They pretend that “service and duty” means to the people, but it actually means toward the monarch.

      • Becks1 says:

        Hey William did an investiture today. He will need another vacation at this rate. I guess they couldn’t force Anne to do it.

    • Pebbles says:

      a sacrificial lamb is exactly what they want from her and her children. They need them to be the sacrifice for the future of the monarchy because how can William and his family be exhalted without others being lesser?

      Who will be the scapegoats?

      • lungta says:

        The trouble is the Lazies will never step up, as they’re temperamentally incompetent, dull, without a jot of curiousity about the world beyond their entitled bubble. Unfortunately for them, we live in an online world that exposes their behaviour directly. And the Rota Rats can obscurate till the cows come home, but the public is increasingly not buying their lies.

  11. ParkRunMum says:

    oh my god these old white British women need to sit the f*ck down and get over themselves. Their message to meghan is always, we know what’s good for you. And what’s good for you is to be grateful. Shut up. And be grateful. What a hateful herd of cows. All the talk about “duty” and “service”?…. To whom does Meghan have a “duty”??? To the family who mocked her, hung her out to dry, laughed at her anguish, and shunned her children??? Really. Not even Bible Belting Trump voters are this deep into their own hype and it reeks of racist bilge. Really. GMAFB. And describing meghan as “ambitious” is just…. Wow. Like, are you supposed to aim low? Come to think of it, maybe if British ladies aimed higher, they wouldn’t end up like Waity Katey, married to men who disdain them or just treat them absentmindedly. I mean. Way to internalise your misogyny. Meghan set the record straight because these people — the same people writing this column — straight up lied. That’s it. They’ve never forgiven her. Like Kate will never forgive her for having set the record straight. That Kate lied. They lie, they lie, they lie. Get over it. Meghan just told the truth and turned the page to get on with her life.

  12. MaisiesMom says:

    Tina Brown really makes me ill. She needs money and she’s making it by frothing up nonsense stories about anything British Royal or adjacent to it that might get her clicks. Now there is a strong interest in CBK, with the movie coming out, and she’s taking advantage of that.

    From what I understand, her house on Long Island was destroyed in Sandy and she’s been renting since in a relatively quiet part of the Hamptons. She keeps trying to buy a place and being thwarted by investment banker types with more cash on hand. She has an adult son with special needs who is financially dependent on her. And I sympathize with that, I just think she could find better ways of monetizing her skills and connections than going after Meghan and and Harry and now a woman who is long since passed, ffs. It’s ghoulish.

  13. Daisychain says:

    I am so glad that this Celebitchy community is here to say sane things! Thank you. To put it old-fashioned, Tina Brown can go jump in a lake.

  14. Chaine says:

    It’s been over a quarter century since she died, but vultures like Tina Brown still won’t let Carolyn rest in peace. Go away, Tina. No one cares about your opinions. You are the kind of revolting woman who only exists to tear other women down.

  15. Betsy says:

    I can’t believe people still get worked up over the Kennedys. They’re bad people, most of them. Junior literally killed his wife and SIL with his stupid hubris.

  16. Amy Bee says:

    This piece is unhinged. When Meghan has laid low the press has demanded to know where she is and what she’s doing. When Meghan decided to do the Oprah interview it was because the British press and Palace continued to smear her after she had left. So Meghan might as well continue doing what she’s doing.

  17. Eurydice says:

    Sure, let’s imagine what would have happened if Carolyn was Black. And it’s not that Carolyn didn’t have the opportunity to have children; she didn’t want children, which was a major disagreement in their marriage.

    As for all the rest of this BS, Meghan’s a US private citizen, which means she works under a different set of “duties” – service and devotion to the monarchy is not part of that. It’s a different thing for Harry, who is still a UK citizen.

    The main issue here is that Meghan is her “authentic self,” but the “experts” want her to be some other self.

  18. FancyPants says:

    I think Carolyn was more similar to Kate, with only a vague “stylist” job entertaining celebrity CK clients before she got married and didn’t have to work any more. Meghan does go out in public, she just won’t give the paparazzi pictures of her children.

    • MsIam says:

      I looked up her career and before she quit the info I read said Carolyn was making six figures working with celebrities and other wealthy clients. I assume she was paid commissions based on client purchases. I think she had an actual career. So no comparison to Waity who didn’t show up for work half the time. I imagine if Carolyn had lived, she could have started her own fashion business.

    • Nic919 says:

      Compared to Meghan perhaps, but Carolyn had real jobs and didn’t stalk jfk jr. Really no one is as lazy as Kate.

  19. Pebbles says:

    These people are desperate for Meghan to make herself small and submissive and less than. They see the writing on the wall. Charles is not long for this world and they want Harry back in the fold to prop up his brother and give them/ the media and rota access to events that get notice and covered. William is stubborn/lazy with himself and his family. They are not allowed to write the kind of harsh things about the heir and his family in the papers. Only sycophantic garbage. They have always depended on the spares and their family to drive press drama. With Harry and his family gone what are they going to do? William isn’t going to suddenly be more open and accessible.

    They hoped that H&M would divorce but now they see they are building their life and business and see Meghan as a threat. They want her to close up shop and all deals so she can be sent back to Britain to be tabloid fodder and bullied sent out to do engagements that Kate thinks is beneath her.

  20. Lover says:

    What condescending sexist hogwash. Disrespectful to Carolyn and Meghan both.

    How stupid to invoke “family is everything” when Meghan (and Harry) did what she did in order to protect her family—from the royals, the media, and the lunatics that the royalist media riled up. The royals have done the most to endanger the Sussex family. They are in California to protect their family. And Meghan building a business is part of protecting their family.

    Telling Meghan to take a page out of Carolyn’s book? How was Carolyn’s life a success story? How well did the Kennedy family protect her?

    Meghan does not owe the UK service or duty or anything else. The BRF takes credit for “exiling” the Sussexes, so the Sussexes owe them nothing. That journalist presumably lives in the UK, she can devote her own life to service and duty to her country if it’s so important to her.

  21. QuiteContrary says:

    Who the hell is Hilary Fordwich? Because this is appalling:

    “At this juncture, the only proper route for Meghan would be for her to lie low. She’ll never do that, though. Everything that [appears to have] meaning for her is the antithesis of service and devotion to duty.”

    Meghan was doing humanitarian work before she married into the RF. She is ALL about service. This is absolute B.S.

    • L4Frimaire says:

      What devotion to duty is she talking about? Not being subservient to the royals and hiding away while they lie about her? What exactly does she mean by that?

  22. IdlesAtCranky says:

    Ms. Brown, as usual, sets the bar just above Hell and then belly-crawls beneath it.

    What a load of reeking, past-its-sell-date baloney.

  23. sunnyside up says:

    Her grandmother in law could have stopped the abuse in the press of both Meghan and Archie.

  24. Mel says:

    What the heck does Carolyn Kennedy have to do with Meghan Sussex? This is one of the dumbest things the press has done in their reach for relevancy. Carolyn Kennedy didn’t retire from public life for duty and service; she HATED being followed everywhere by the Paps. She didn’t have to work, John was a wealthy. Kennedy and Onasis money (via mom but money is money), Meghan and Harry had to make money to pay for their security, so they have to work. You know Tina, like you keep writing dumb stuff because you have a disabled child to provide support for…… I get the hustle, but Tina’s got to do better with her subject matter.

  25. Nic919 says:

    Tina needs to leave Meghan alone. Meghan disclosed her experience and got help. The royal wife having breakdowns right now is Kate. She’s visibly shrinking and hides away from the public. There are a bag of psychological issues she has that are so bad that they are obvious to anyone who cares to look.

    • lungta says:

      William is equally damaged. Just manifesting it in a typical male way: rage! And taking it out on Harry through his pals in the press, & no doubt also on Kate -both physically & verbally, At this point I reckon their three children, growing up in that atmosphere, are well on their way to showing signs of the effects of trauma, but having to perform normality in public appearances.

      The irony of the “school run” :))) That’s the least of their problems.

  26. L4Frimaire says:

    The desperation of Tina Brown while Meghan continually has no inkling of her existence. These are both women who were/are married to famous men from very prominent families in the public eye and have minimalist fashion styles. Their styles are also very different if you look at the details. That’s it. Meghan has never done a self-promotion tour. Discussing what happened to you or what projects you’re currently launching is not the same thing and they know that. They would love for her back on that balcony in the UK being controlled by William and being abused daily in the national press. People like Brown hate her visibility and her being vocal. Every time Meghan does something, whether it’s launch her show, or volunteer, or do events like the upcoming NY trip, some naysayer slithers out saying she’s not showing enough decorum because she’s not sequestered and silent. What part of Meghan saying she’s no longer in the prove it game are they not understanding?

  27. Alla says:

    God forbid a woman works 😂 Meghan came from this (entertainment) industry so why the f are they wondering that she is exactly doing that?! These people! Arrogant Snobs!

    • lungta says:

      Meghan was not only working successfully long before she met Harry, she was already a millionaire before meeting Harry. Very unusual for a married-in woman in the RF. They were threatened from the start.

  28. Saucy&Sassy says:

    Geez, make up your mind. Whenever Meghan isn’t seen or heard from for 2-3 months, the bm gets into a frenzy. Whenever Meghan is seen out and about or announcing her/their latest project, the bm gets into a frenzy. Pick a lane.

  29. Jaded says:

    Black or biracial women aren’t allowed to be successful and have great careers or to marry into a royal family. Just come out and say it Tina.

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