Tragic Details About RFK Jr.'s Wife Cheryl Hines

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. turning America's healthcare system completely upside down, you might have forgotten that the divisive White House staffer initially challenged Donald Trump for the presidency back in 2024. Someone who hasn't forgotten that harrowing time is Kennedy's wife, Cheryl Hines. She's had to weather a wave of controversy because of her husband, but ahead of the presidential elections, what Hines feared for most was Kennedy's safety as he set out on the campaign trail. Speaking to CBS News in October 2025, the actor opened up about how terrified she was for her husband's life as RFK Jr. set his sights on the highest office in the land. The tragedy surrounding the Kennedy family is well known, and Hines was afraid he'd be the subject of the next calamitous headline. "I knew our lives would never be the same," she acknowledged. "I think every day somebody would say to me, 'Are you worried about him getting shot like his father and like his uncle?' And I was. I was very worried about it." 

It didn't help that Kennedy's application for Secret Service protection was repeatedly denied. In fact, the politician had already applied five times by March 2024, citing several disturbing incidents as proof that he needed the additional protection. These included an intruder in his house and death threats. Meanwhile, Hines pointed out how things hadn't exactly cooled down since her husband was appointed as Trump's health secretary either. "I don't think Bobby tells me all of the threats that he gets, if I'm being honest," she disclosed. Her husband's safety is hardly the only challenge Hines has had to deal with, however. From losing beloved family members to weathering RFK Jr.'s affair scandal, the actor has had a rough go of it. 

In May 2024, Cheryl Hines took to Instagram to share a heartbreaking post. Her 21-year-old nephew, Michael Hines, had died. "It's been a difficult week in the hospital but we regaled him with stories and songs — he was a fighter til the end. I'm going to miss you, Buttercup," the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star penned at the time. Michael had cerebral palsy and ended up in the hospital after a choking incident. Unfortunately, he didn't survive, with Hines later recalling on the "Citizen McCain" podcast that the family ultimately had to make the incredibly difficult decision to take him off life support. During this very trying time, they also made the decision to donate Michael's organs, which Hines described as a "life-changing" experience. 

"To know that he ended up saving eight other lives was a lot, and it was sad, and there was a real beauty knowing that while we were saying goodbye to Michael, we knew that a family just found out they were going to get a heart for their child," the actor proudly elaborated. What made it even harder was that, while her nephew was in the hospital, Hines was also dealing with her husband's highly-publicized cheating scandal, which was dominating headlines and sparking increasingly loud chatter that Kennedy and Hines' relationship wouldn't last in the long run.   

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s rumored affairs have made headlines for years, and unfortunately for Cheryl Hines, one became tabloid fodder during her husband's 2024 presidential campaign. Kennedy allegedly engaged in a sexting affair with New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who was let go from her job after the tryst became public. The political scion denied anything had transpired between them, with his spokesperson asserting he'd "only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece," (via NPR). Nuzzi, however, admitted to it, even though RFK Jr. was never actually named. "The nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal," she said, but insisted that the relationship was never a physical one.

While speculation indicates Hines was angrier about Kennedy's cheating scandal than we realized, she refuses to air their dirty laundry. During a joint Wall Street Journal interview, in August 2025, the actor weathered questions about the tryst, but she deflected them all, reasoning, "I don't think there's any point to going through every rumor and headline to try to defend or explain it." Her husband, meanwhile, sidetracked the question in true MAHA fashion, pontificating, "There is no end, and if you get caught into responding to it then it drags you into low vibrations, and the trick is to try to stay in the high vibrations."

It turns out that Cheryl Hines' marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has brought about some friction in her personal life too. The "Suburgatory" star's former close friend, comedian Tig Notaro, told "Breaking Bread with Tom Papa" in October 2025 that she and her former bestie no longer speak. Longtime fans will recall that the two used to co-host the "Tig & Cheryl: True Story" podcast together. But after the actor married Kennedy, Notaro found it increasingly difficult to maintain their friendship, sadly recalling, "We made each other laugh so hard." While Hines' relationship didn't initially affect her friendship with Notaro, things quickly went south when the controversial politician announced his bid for the White House in 2024, and they worsened once he endorsed Donald Trump. 

"I just felt like I needed to step away because there are beliefs that were like a gnat on the arm years ago that were getting further into the spotlight," Notaro explained, adding "It's not my world." Aside from her best friend not approving of RFK Jr.'s political aspirations and endorsements, Hines has also had to deal with the fact that her in-laws were highly critical of Kennedy's endorsement of Trump, alongside their subsequent, and very public, calls in 2025 for RFK Jr. to resign from his position as health secretary. Among other things, they called him "a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American," (via PBS).

When assessing Cheryl Hines' life, it appears that most of the tragedies and hardships she's had to weather are thanks to her husband, and this became even clearer when the actor made an appearance on "The View" in October 2025 to promote her book, "Unscripted." The panel went a little off topic, and instead of simply discussing it, they put Hines on the spot about the controversial claims Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made over the years, alongside the damaging misinformation he's peddled since becoming Donald Trump's health secretary. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star defended her husband's decision to endorse Trump first and foremost, calling it a "leap of faith," (via USA Today). She also dismissed the hosts' concerns about Kennedy's medical advice, which isn't backed by any science, touting his achievements as a lawyer in response. 

"He sued DuPont, he sued Exxon and he sued these companies for health reasons because they were causing health problems," Hines listed. She also had to answer questions about the infamous brain worm RFK Jr. claimed he had a few years ago. Naturally, it was a far cry from your typical book launch interview. The uncomfortable "View" appearance will likely not be Hines' last either. Aside from her husband's many controversies overshadowing her book, the "Suburgatory" star will also have to deal with his alleged former mistress, Olivia Nuzzi's, upcoming tome, which reportedly includes all the sordid details about their sexting affair. In fact, the actor might even come to prefer addressing her husband's political controversies in upcoming interviews, given the alternative.