u/ArtemisArrowHunt

This is probably a controversial take, but in my opinion, John was wayyy too good for a woman like Carolyn. I'm sure she had some good qualities in there somewhere, but John deserved someone so much better, smarter, prettier, and just nicer. She sounded like a terrible human being who had too many problems. How did John Kennedy Jr end up with a woman like Carolyn? He could've had the cream of the crop, but instead chose a miserable, homely-looking, aggressive, abusive, neurotic woman with a drug addiction like Carolyn. Why? What did she do for him? How could John not see through her smoke and mirrors?

She wore a convincing mask and fooled him completely. She was a terrible wife, didn't give him children, didn't work, didn’t have money, didn’t even have sex with him or do anything worthwhile or notable with her time, and was always upset, angry, and fighting with him about everything. She brought out the worst in him. The least she could've done was have children but she wouldn’t even have sex with him! What was she doing with her life? She was dragging him down with her fake depression excuses and taking drugs which made her crazy. She was cheating and have sex with other men when she should’ve had sex with her husband. Was she a secret hooker?

It's very obvious John had no reason left to stay in that marriage at the time of their deaths. What a waste of four years of his life being with her when he could've been with a woman who truly loved him and cared for him. Maybe she practiced witchcraft and put him under a spell.

If John had married Daryl Hannah—or anyone other than Carolyn—would he still be around today?

Do you think his life would’ve turned out differently?

I’m currently reading America’s Reluctant Prince by Steven M. Gillon. In one of the chapters, he writes that John would juggle more than one woman at a time and overlap his relationships as part of a conscious strategy. The author says this was so John would appear taken or attached at all times and not be viewed as single, so he wouldn’t be “barraged” with dating offers. He also mentioned that John could be monogamous for long periods, but once he felt a relationship was fizzling out, he would search for a replacement before breaking up.

This made me think about John and Carolyn. By many accounts shared by their friends, their marriage was on the brink of divorce before they died. It made me wonder if John was actively searching for Carolyn’s replacement before their deaths, based on what was written about him. I imagine the public attention and scrutiny from a highly publicized divorce would have looked bad for him, and finding a new woman quickly might have lessened the media glare.

I’m not sure whether Carolyn approached relationships in a similar way, but it’s possible she had her own strategies as well.