JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette planned to leave New York amid paparazzi

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were considering leaving New York City as relentless paparazzi made life increasingly difficult for her. JFK Jr.'s close friend Sasha Chermayeff said Bessette went house‑hunting in the suburbs and even came up and stayed with her in Upstate New York.

They looked at properties with long driveways and explored locations beyond the state. "They were looking all around," Chermayeff said. "She wanted freedom." After their 1996 marriage the couple lived in a Tribeca apartment, where Bessette became so wary of photographers that she rarely left home.

"She started to get a little agoraphobic," Chermayeff said. "So many photographers just harassed her." The pair managed a secret wedding on Cumberland Island despite helicopters circling the Greyfield Inn, with guests slipping away so the ceremony could proceed in quiet.

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