A new book about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made a startling claim about his marriage to actress Cheryl Hines.
The book alleged that the politician frequently spoke about his wife in “unfavorable” terms when comparing her to his late ex-wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was married to Richardson from 1994 until 2010, when he filed for divorce. In 2012, Richardson died by suicide, and Kennedy tied the knot to Cheryl Hines two years later.
The Bombshell Claims Were Made In A New Book About Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Life
On Tuesday, April 14, a new book about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. debuted on the shelves and contained bombshell claims about how the politician often made comparisons between his current wife, Cheryl Hines, and his ex-wife, Mary Richardson.
Written by investigative journalist Isabel Vincent, the book “RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise” claimed that those comparisons were often “unfavorable.”
“Kennedy spends a lot of time in private conversations comparing Hines unfavorably to Mary,” the book claimed.
Vincent, who reportedly had exclusive access to several materials about Kennedy Jr., also noted that the politician’s over a decade marriage to Hines is hanging on its last thread.
“[He] seems to have drifted away from [Hines], the journalist said of the 60-year-old, adding he “no longer desires to spend much time with her,” per US Weekly.
The Unfavorable Comparisons RFK Jr. Made Between Cheryl Hines And Mary Richardson
Part of the comparison Kennedy Jr. seemed to make between Hines and Mary was that his ex-wife’s physical and mental attributes were allegedly better than those of his current wife.
According to a source who spoke with Vincent, Kennedy Jr. often focused on Richardson’s “beauty, her razor-sharp intellect, her sense of humor, her elegance, her grace” when making these comparisons.
The source also told the journalist that “there is no doubt that she was the greatest love of his life.”
The Politician Allegedly ‘Gaslit’ His Ex-Wife
Despite the pedestal Kennedy Jr. allegedly placed Richardson on, their marriage was rife with cheating allegations from his end.
“He definitely gaslit her and told her that she was crazy and that her accusations about other women were fantasies. … She was innocent and naive, but she drank, which was classic in the sense of being in pain a lot of the time,” a source told Vincent.
In 2010, Kennedy and Richardson’s marriage ended, and two years later, she ended her life due to suicide. In 2014, Kennedy and Hines married, a union that seemed controversial at the time, given Richardson’s death.
Cheryl Hines Said She Is Committed To RFK Jr. Despite Scandals And Controversies
Contrary to what the new book has said about Kennedy Jr.’s marriage to his current wife, Hines claimed in her own book, “Unscripted,” that she remains committed to the politician.
“There’s extremes on both sides to Bobby — and being his wife — because there are a lot of people who absolutely love and support him,” she said in the book released last year.
Hines added, “And then there are people who, no matter what he accomplishes, are still going to criticize him.”
Explaining further, Hines revealed that her husband’s traits endear him to her despite the many scandals and controversies their marriage has faced.
“And I thought it was important for me to say: this is why I love him. This is who he is as a person, and this is who we are to each other. If I’m just telling the truth about what I’ve been through, it makes me feel better because they’re my own words and you can’t misconstrue them,” she noted.
Cheryl Hines Revealed How She Felt About Her Husband’s Cheating Allegations
Like Kennedy Jr.’s previous marriage to Richardson, his relationship with Hines was also plagued by cheating allegations.
In her book, Hines recalled learning about the claims while on vacation in Italy and described the insinuations as “upsetting and overwhelming.”
Although she tried to keep her composure at the time, especially as she was surrounded by some of Kennedy’s children from previous relationships, she eventually broke down in private. The experience, she admitted, created emotional distance between her and her husband.
“It seemed like the only threads that were connecting me to him were directly tied to all of our kids … I respected and adored them too much not to listen to what Bobby had to say,” she added.
In the end, they were able to “drill down on the truth” and strengthen their love and marriage.