The Moment
Carole Radziwill, the journalist and “Real Housewives” alum, says an ex-boyfriend once rang her up out of the blue with a wild update: he’d auditioned to play her late husband, Anthony Radziwill, in FX/Hulu’s “American Love Story”.
She shared the story in a late-March profile, recalling a winter 2024 phone call with the actor, who also asked if she had recordings of Anthony’s voice for him to study. The conversation rattled her so much she pulled over to collect herself.
Ultimately, the role of Anthony went to actor Erich Bergen. Carole didn’t name the ex, and she didn’t say what, if anything, she sent him.
The Take
There’s something exquisitely modern (and a little queasy) about this: your past love life calling to say it might be portrayed on TV as your deeper, older love. It’s not a scandal; it’s the strange math of fame in a nostalgia-obsessed era. Still, asking a widow for study tapes? That’s method acting meets emotional hazard.
I don’t fault actors for researching, but this is one of those moments where the industry’s “based on a true story” machine rubs up against real, unhealed memory. It’s like your high school yearbook got optioned and your prom date DM’d for your family’s home videos, technically reasonable but emotionally loaded.
The bigger picture: “American Love Story” taps America’s never-ending fascination with the Kennedys and the collateral circles around them. Carole’s life was already public, but this call is a reminder: even your grief can become a casting note. Boundaries matter. So does grace. I’m glad she took a break on the side of the road. Who wouldn’t?
Carole Radziwill Reveals an Ex Asked Her for Recordings of Her Late Husband for His ‘Love Story’ Audition https://t.co/guRu7riHRXpic.twitter.com/rqrkMW9CtC
— Star Magazine (@Star_News) March 26, 2026
Receipts
Confirmed:
- Carole Radziwill said an ex-boyfriend (an actor) called her in winter 2024, told her he’d auditioned to play Anthony Radziwill in “American Love Story”, and asked for recordings of Anthony’s voice; she felt rattled and pulled over. This appears in a profile published March 26, 2026, in The New York Times.
- Erich Bergen is cast as Anthony Radziwill in FX’s “American Love Story”, per FX/Hulu casting information and industry notices.
Unverified/Reported:
- Carole has not publicly disclosed the identity of the ex-boyfriend-actor.
- Whether that actor advanced beyond the initial audition is not stated.
- What, if anything, Carole provided in response (recordings, guidance) was not disclosed.
Backstory (for Casual Readers)
Carole Radziwill, an Emmy-winning journalist and former RHONY cast member, married Anthony Radziwill, JFK Jr.’s cousin and a TV producer. Anthony died of cancer at 40 in August 1999, just weeks after JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s deaths in a plane crash. Carole has written about that period in her bestselling memoir, What Remains, and has remained part of the broader Kennedy-adjacent conversation ever since.
What’s Next
Watch for FX/Hulu to ramp up promotion as “American Love Story” moves closer to release, including a trailer that will likely spotlight Anthony and Carolyn’s inner circle. Erich Bergen’s portrayal will draw scrutiny from viewers who remember the era firsthand and from those who lived it. Also worth watching: whether Carole chooses to share more context or set firmer public boundaries as the series airs.
When real lives become prestige TV, where should the line be between respectful research and crossing a personal boundary, especially with someone’s grief?
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