John Kennedy Jr. Secretly Married on Georgia Island

CUMBERLAND ISLAND, Ga. —  John John is the nation’s No. 1 bachelor no more. John F. Kennedy Jr. tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Carolyn Bessette in a top-secret weekend ceremony on a secluded island.

Years of gossip about the 35-year-old son of President Kennedy ended with a private wedding Saturday on this island that was once the Carnegie family’s vacation home.

“My cousin John did tie the knot yesterday,” Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) confirmed Sunday morning at a fund-raiser for congressional candidate Robert Burch in Steubenville, Ohio. Although he gave no details, his spokesman confirmed the bride was Bessette.

Kennedy, co-founder and editor of George magazine, has been romantically linked for about five years to Bessette, a Connecticut native who works in public relations for Calvin Klein Ltd.

Several members of Kennedy’s family, including his uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), were around the island Sunday, but they had no comment for reporters.