Cheryl Hines, the wife of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said her husband suggested they fake separating during his 2024 presidential campaign.
“Some people were very upset that I was even married to Bobby,” Hines told Fox News in an interview published Monday. “They were vocally coming at me because I’m married to Bobby. So Bobby felt like, ‘You shouldn’t be having to take that heat. So why don’t we just say we’re separated?’”
Kennedy launched his campaign in April 2023, initially challenging former President Biden for the Democratic nomination. In October 2023, he began running as an independent, but he dropped out in August 2024 and backed President Trump.
Hines said Kennedy’s suggestion that the couple fake a separation was “sweet,” but she “didn’t think that was helpful.”
“What needed to happen — and what did happen — is we got closer together,” said Hines, who is promoting her “Unscripted” memoir, which will be released Nov. 11.
Hines, 60, married Kennedy, 69, in 2014. Larry David, who starred alongside Hines in “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” introduced them.
Kennedy has been criticized by his family for expressing skepticism about vaccines and the upheaval at the agency under his watch. Earlier this month, Hines told CBS News it was “hard” to see some of Kennedy’s family members disavow him.
Hines also sparred with “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin last week over her husband’s views on public health and his time leading the HHS.
During her interview with Fox News, Hines also said she “was very fearful” for her husband’s safety during his campaign. Kennedy’s uncle, former President Kennedy (D), and his father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), were assassinated in 1963 and 1968, respectively.
Hines noted that during the campaign, a man walked into their backyard. In September 2023, an armed man impersonating a U.S. Marshal was arrested outside a Kennedy rally in Los Angeles.
“When Bobby ran for president, it was very stressful. For good reason,” she said.
