Did JFK Jr., Carolyn eat KFC? Fact-checking 'Love Story' amid backlash

Amid recent criticism of FX's \

The penultimate episode of FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” dramatized the enlarging faults plaguing the marriage of the titular characters before their untimely deaths.

At Episode 8’s end, John (Paul Anthony Kelly) leaves the Tribeca apartment he shared with Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) for a hotel following an ugly fight, just days before their fatal flight. On July 16, 1999, a plane piloted by Kennedy Jr. crashed. The couple were headed for Hyannis Port for his cousin Rory Kennedy's wedding. Bessette’s sister, Lauren Bessette, was also on board. The series finale will air on March 26 at 9 ET/PT and stream on Hulu.

Amid recent criticism from Kennedy Jr.’s nephew, congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg; ex-girlfriend, actress Daryl Hannah and USA TODAY’s TV critic Kelly Lawler, we’re here to help you separate the facts from the fictionalized.

At the beginning of the episode, John comes home from a book launch to Carolyn and a big bag of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The presence of the popular fast food chain seems like it could be an out-of-place product placement, but the pair did dine on Colonel Sanders’ cuisine, according to Elizabeth Beller’s book, “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,” on which the series is based.

“Carolyn and John had home routines,” Bessette’s friend, Hamilton South, told Beller. “When (butler Efigenio Pinheiro) didn’t cook − and usually he did − Carolyn had one recipe, roast chicken with lemon and garlic. If it wasn’t one of those two, then they ordered in, sometimes even from Kentucky Fried Chicken.”