Martha Stewart revealed she warned John F. Kennedy Jr. about not using a co-pilot just days before his fatal 1999 plane crash.
During Tuesday’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” Season 16premiere, Stewart told her makeup artist and new cast member, Daisy Toye, about the eerie final conversation she had with Kennedy Jr., who died in the crash with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and her sister, Lauren. He was piloting the plane.
“I was with John-John the Monday before the Friday when they died. He called me,” Stewart explained. “I was running Martha Stewart Living Magazine. He called me and he said he’s in trouble.”
Kennedy Jr., according to Stewart, asked the famous homemaker for advice about his political-lifestyle magazine “George,” which he started four years earlier.
“I said, ‘Of course, anything you want,’” Stewart recalled, revealing that the pair “had a very nice dinner” together, where Stewart asked Kennedy Jr. about his upcoming weekend plans.
“He said, ‘Oh, we’re going to a wedding in Martha’s Vineyard. And I’m taking my wife and her sister,’” Stewart remembered.
The businesswoman said Kennedy Jr. told her he was flying the trio in a plane, which prompted her to suggest he get a co-pilot.
“I don’t need a co-pilot,” Kennedy Jr. allegedly replied.
Stewart admitted to Toye that she’s “thought about that so many times, that I told him to get a co-pilot.”
“Ugh, I feel sorry,” she added.
Kennedy Jr. died at 38 in the plane crash along with Carolyn, who was 33, and Lauren, who was 34.
President Kennedy’s son flew the trio in a red and white Piper Saratoga that left from Essex Airport in Caldwell, New Jersey. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn planned to go to Martha’s Vineyard first to drop off Lauren, and then to Hyannis Port with for his cousin Rory Kennedy’s wedding.
But after take-off, Kennedy Jr. — who had relatively limited flying experience— allegedly became disoriented while flying through thick fog, and the plane spiraled downward and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
The fatal crash, as well as Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn’s rollercoaster relationship, was explored in the Hulu miniseries “Love Story,” which aired when “RHONY” was filming earlier this year.
Before their deaths, Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn ran in some of the same New York City social circles as Stewart.
According to Elizabeth Beller’s 2024 biography, “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,” Carolyn once said she wanted to reach out to Stewart for cooking tips.
Carolyn did in fact call Stewart for culinary and decorating advice, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1996.
“The Real Housewives of New York City” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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