Cheryl Hines Sends Subtle Message She's Not Tossing RFK Jr. To The Curb Amid His Affair Scandal

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Cheryl Hines sent a subtle but clear message to the world that she and her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are doing just fine. That message seemed to purposefully preempt the drama about their relationship, coming one day before former New York Magazine Washington Correspondent Olivia Nuzzi released her memoir "American Canto," in which she detailed her alleged digital affair with the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star made an appearance at a Red Cross holiday care package event alongside First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance on December 1, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews. Hines wore her wedding ring to the event in Prince George's County, Maryland (unlike Usha), and appeared to be in good spirits as she chatted with attendees and made care packages. 

Her choice to attend the event is likely a strategic message to the public that her marriage is fine before the December 2, 2025, release of the book about her husband's alleged emotional infidelity over texts with Nuzzi. Hines is arguably one of the most recognizable spouses of government officials because of the scandal and her career, but she also could've likely sat this one out if she wanted to. His title is important (putting his controversial views aside), but RFK Jr. is technically 12th in the official line of presidential succession, so it's not like she's the third lady (if that title even existed). 

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Nuzzi doesn't name RFK Jr. in the upcoming book, which contains details of the sexting scandal, but the facts aren't hard to piece together. The inappropriate communication reportedly happened after Nuzzi wrote a November 2023 profile of RFK for New York Magazine. The publication announced that Nuzzi "engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign" in September 2024. Additionally, Nuzzi's ex, Ryan Lizza, has released disgustingly graphic messages between her and RFK that make things pretty transparent.

In her memoir, "American Canto," Olivia Nuzzi details the alleged inappropriate relationship she had with a former subject on the 2024 presidential campaign trail, claiming that her partner in the affair (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) wrote her poems, said "I love you" first, and wanted her to have his baby, according to The New York Times. While the details of the alleged relationship are probably hard to read about for Hines, who has been married to RFK since 2014, the actor published her own memoir, "Unscripted," less than one month before Nuzzi.

Hines wrote about the impact her husband's alleged infidelity had on their marriage in "Unscripted." The "Waitress" star was in Italy when she learned of the scandal and wrote about confronting RFK when she got back. "For the next few days, we stopped everything and drilled down on the truth. We locked ourselves in our room and laid it all on the table," Hines wrote (via People). She described talking about the difficulties in their marriage and what they meant to each other as husband and wife. "We analyzed how we had become disconnected and what had kept us together. We went through all of the details about the latest story — what was true and what wasn't. Through those soul-searching days, we tightened our ties that bind," she wrote. 

Hines and RFK might have a seemingly strange marriage with lots of red flags, but it's their relationship. They apparently decided to stay together, and it seems like Hines' appearance with Melania Trump and Usha Vance was a conscious choice to show that she's committed to her vows after the scandal, no matter the headlines. She made her point.