Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weighing in on how he handles “negative news stories” — and how wife Cheryl Hines’ opinion is one of the only ones that counts.
“I don’t internalize them. I know what my job is. What other people think about me or say about me is not my business. The only people whose opinion really matters to me is God, Cheryl and President [Donald] Trump. In that order,” Kennedy, 71, explained on the Tuesday, January 13, episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
He continued, “I don’t really have control over anything except the little piece of real estate inside my own shoes. I just have to get up every day and say, ‘Reporting for duty, sir.’ And go about my day and keep doing the next right thing and all of the screaming and noise is just noise. So it doesn’t bother me.”
Kennedy’s relationship with Hines, 60, was placed in the public eye more than ever before amid his 2024 bid for presidency. After the election, he was named the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for Trump’s administration.
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While navigating public scrutiny, Hines recalled that Kennedy once suggested the couple stage a separation to ease backlash.
“In my book, Unscripted, I talk about this because things got … dramatic during this presidential campaign,” Hines told Fox News Digital in 2025, referring to her new memoir. “Some people were very upset that I was even married to Bobby. 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?’”
While Hines thought Kennedy’s gesture was a “very sweet notion,” she didn’t think it would be “helpful” to go through with it.
“What needed to happen — and what did happen — is we got closer together,” she said. “I understood the sentiment behind it, but this is why I think the book is so interesting: you’re in these unique situations that nobody else can imagine.”
Cheryl Hines Breaks Silence on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Alleged Affair
She continued, “For a couple to say, ‘Maybe we should just say we’re not with each other anymore and our lives would be easier’ — it’s like, well, things have gotten to that point. That’s pretty dramatic and pretty extreme. And that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to write the book … experiences that are very once in a lifetime.”
Prior to exchanging vows with Kennedy, Hines was married to Paul Young for eight years until their 2010 divorce. The exes share daughter Catherine, 21.
RFK Jr. — who is the son of former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former president John F. Kennedy — said “I do” with Emily Black in 1982. The exes share son Bobby III, 41, and daughter Kathleen, 37. After their 1994 split, RFK Jr. went on to marry the late Mary Richardson in 1994. The pair welcomed kids Conor, 31, Kyra, 30, Finn, 26, and Aidan, 23. RFK Jr. and Richardson separated in 2010.
