Cheryl Hines‘ marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has proven difficult in more ways than one.
During a recent interview, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” alum, 60, opened up about how her husband’s career and political stance have impacted her physical and mental health.
“I went through a lot of darkness and not only because of politics,” Hines told Page Six. “I lost my nephew in the last year and it was heartbreaking. And to deal with that loss while this other chaos was going on, there were dark times.”
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“But I am definitely in a new chapter that I could never have predicted I would be in.”
After RFK Jr. — who currently serves as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in President Donald Trump‘s second administration — announced his intention to run for president in April 2023, Hines said safety concerns surrounding her family immediately heightened.
“The fact that he didn’t [initially] get Secret Service protection when he was a presidential candidate is unacceptable,” she told Page Six. “During that time, I would stay dressed with my shoes on until I was ready to go to bed, just because I didn’t know what was going to happen. And there were phone calls saying ‘Someone just showed up at his rally with loaded guns and was asking to see Bobby’ So it was a real concern.”
Three days after Trump’s assassination attempt in July, Hines recalled a meeting with him that caused her to break out in hives and landed her in urgent care.
“[Trump] had the bandage on his ear that was a reminder of how close the bullet was to his temple. It really struck me that something could happen in an instant that would change everything. And I knew that Bobby was out there every day campaigning just like President Trump was doing … ” Hines said.
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“They were talking about life and death situations, what that meant. So when we got out of that meeting, my body went into overdrive and I broke out into hives.”
That evening, recalled Hines, she reached an unmanageable level of stress after RFK Jr. brought up the idea of dropping out and endorsing Trump.
“They did connect on a lot of levels and had common goals that they wanted to accomplish,” she said. But “the stress of all of it was a lot. And then my lips started swelling and I was worried that my throat might start closing up and I had to go to urgent care.”
A representative for Hines did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Kennedy has drawn criticism for his long history of controversial views on vaccines and public health policies. The former environmental lawyer’s detractors have also denounced him for breaking with the Democratic party and aligning with Trump.
Hines has been married to Kennedy since 2014. Before they tied the knot, she was married to producer Paul Young, with whom she shares one daughter, Catherine, born in 2004.
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Hines told the outlet that she’s become used to people constantly asking her why she stays married to RFK Jr.
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“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. And then there are people who, no matter what he accomplishes, are still going to criticize him,” Hines said.
“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.”
But Hines is learning to embrace the positives in her life.
“I’m learning something new every day. I didn’t know I would be learning so much about politics, but I am. And actually it makes me happy to learn new things,” she said. “I feel like I’m at a place now where I can appreciate what’s happening in my life, and I feel strong and ready, and I’m having a really good time with the people around me.”
