Photographer Who Captured JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette’s Infamous Fight Shares Shocking Firsthand Details

Months before John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy were married on September 21, 1996, the pair had an explosive argument in New York City that was caught on camera.

Angie Coqueran, the photographer who took pictures of the ordeal that took place on February 25, 1996, recalled the incident in an interview with the Daily Mail published Wednesday, February 11.

That day, when Coqueran went to take pictures of the attorney and his then-fiancée as they walked their dog, she said that JFK Jr. may have been triggered by something he saw in the newspaper, setting off an intense back and forth between the couple.

“John got up and tried to walk away and out of my sight,” Coqueran told the publication, explaining that when she repositioned herself, she saw an argument begin.

“Carolyn was trying to grab the dog leash, and he physically pushed her back over and over again,” Coqueran claimed. “It looked like he was going to smack her in the face.”

Some of the photos, as well as video from the ordeal, show JFK Jr. appearing to take Bessette’s engagement ring off her finger. They are also seen yelling at one another and, at times, sitting in complete silence.

When Coqueran went to pitch the story out to a major news organization, she said JFK Jr.’s representatives were contacted for comment, and they said that the story was “not true” and “totally made up” before the images eventually went public.

“I knew when his PR team said it was all made up, they had never seen me taking pics,” Coqueran told the Mail.

Once the images made headlines, Coqueran said JFK Jr. knew she took them. “He came up to my car and reached inside like he was trying to grab my arm or my camera,” Coqueran claimed, adding that Bessette warned him to stop.

Kennedy and Bessette eventually married on September 21, 1996.

Years later, on July 16, 1999, JFK Jr., 38, and his wife, 33 — along with Carolyn’s sister Lauren Bessette, 34 — were en route to Martha’s Vineyard Airport when their aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard, and all three died in the incident.

The Kennedys’ relationship will be explored in the upcoming Ryan Murphy series Love Story, which will debut Thursday, February 12, on FX and FX on Hulu.