Hines and RFK Jr. wed in 2014, two years after Mary Richardson Kennedy died by suicide.

RFK Jr.’s kids with Mary Richardson were ‘swept up by’ Cheryl Hines, book claims

Hines and RFK Jr. wed in 2014, two years after Mary Richardson Kennedy died by suicide.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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April 15, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mary Richardson Kennedy; Cheryl Hines. Credit:

JIMI CELESTE/Patrick McMullan via Getty; Daniele Venturelli/Getty

- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s kids with Mary Richardson Kennedy were "swept up by" actress Cheryl Hines, a new book claims.

- RFK Jr. and Mary were married from 1994 until her death in 2012. Hines and RFK Jr. got married in 2014.

- *RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise *is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s third wife had a lasting impression on his children, according to a new book.

In *RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise** *by Isabel Vincent, the journalist looks back on the Secretary of Health and Human Services' professional and personal lives. The book touches upon his relationship with third wife Cheryl Hines, who married RFK Jr. in 2014, two years after his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, died by suicide in 2012.

Hines was in the process of separating from her husband of eight years, producer Paul Young, in 2010. At the time, RFK Jr. and Mary's marriage was suffering due to sobriety troubles and alleged affairs. Kennedy filed for divorce in May 2010, which resulted in arguments about their children, money, and his relationship with Hines.

David Crotty/Getty

"Cheryl was introduced to Bobby by Larry [David, her *Curb Your Enthusiasm** *costar], and the kids were just swept up by her," a source close to Mary says in Vincent's book. RFK Jr. and Mary shared four children: Conor Kennedy, Kyra Kennedy, Aidan Kennedy, and William "Finn" Kennedy.

RFK Jr. stayed with Cheryl Hines because 'another divorce' would cost him Trump cabinet post, biographer claims

RFK Jr. compares Cheryl Hines 'unfavorably' to Mary Richardson, new book says

Vincent writes that Mary was "completely shattered" when her daughter Kyra moved to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old to live with Hines while she attended school on the West Coast. In Hines' 2025 memoir *Unscripted*, she wrote: "I loved Kyra and was happy to take her in."

"The thing that was most troubling to her was losing access to the children, was just being barred from the children," Vincent told PEOPLE about the dynamic. "That was the worst thing. That was her greatest fear."**

Mary Richardson Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in New York in December 2008.

Bryan Bedder/Getty

The author added that Mary didn't "deal with it well." "My source said she was very upset about it, particularly when Hines started putting on social media all about how much the kids were bonding with her."

"That really hurt her because she was in a situation where [Bobby] had threatened to take the children away because she had all of these problems with substance abuse and was just going through a very hard time," Vincent explained. "So that, I was told, was truly devastating.”

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Mary died in May 2012, before her divorce from RFK Jr. was finalized. She was 52.

* *contacted representatives for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines and did not receive an immediate response.

'RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise' by Isabel Vincent.

*RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise** *is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

*If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the **National Suicide Prevention Lifeline** at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).*

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