JFK Jr. and India: An Untold Love Story

It’s 1992. Carolyn Bessette, a svelte, blonde saleswoman at Calvin Klein, is sitting alone at a table inside Panna II, a beloved Bangladeshi-owned Indian restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village. The walls are covered floor to ceiling in plastic chili pepper lights and hanging marigolds, which decades later, countless influencers will use as a backdrop. Carolyn has been waiting 20 minutes for her first date with John F. Kennedy Jr.

When he finally arrives, she’s already on her way out, but he convinces her to stay with the promise of good food. Turns out, he’s right. “You went a little rogue with the order there,” she tells him, noting how he didn’t order the obvious, like chicken tikka masala. “Well, I went backpacking through India after I graduated, and I learned very quickly that ordering chicken tikka masala is a sure way to get made fun of,” he replies.

That’s how Love Story, a new TV series about JFK Jr.’s relationship with Carolyn Bessette, depicts their first meeting. Though Panna II may not have been their actual first date, and owner Bashir Khan told The Juggernaut that chicken tikka masala was in fact one of JFK Jr.’s regular orders, some details do ring true. The couple indeed often ate at Panna II, and sales have surged by 40% since the show’s premiere. More intriguingly, this moment reveals a lesser-known and often overlooked chapter of the young Kennedy’s life: his travels through India.