The Sad Reason RFK Jr. Wanted To Fake His Split From Wife Cheryl Hines

Cheryl Hines has been happily married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since 2014, despite the fact that their union is quite strange. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actor first got together with the son of JFK's brother thanks to Larry David and, after a decade of marriage, she's still very much in love – but it hasn't been easy. While Hines is no stranger to the spotlight, she's had to deal with a whole new level of scrutiny due to her husband. That's because, despite being a successful environmental lawyer, RFK Jr. has backed a long list of wild conspiracy theories. They've included everything from an alleged link between Prozac and school shootings to claims that 5G will be used to control society. However, it's his anti-vaccine stance that really got people talking. In addition to starting his own nonprofit, Children's Health Defense, to promote alternative medicine for kids, he's accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of pushing COVID-19 vaccines to make money and alleged that COVID-19 was a biological weapon made in a lab.

The final straw came in 2022 at an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, D.C. "Even in Hitler's Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland," slammed RFK Jr., suggesting America had become more restrictive than Europe during WWII. Blowback was swift and it also impacted Hines. Former fans vowed to stop watching her work and tore into her for standing by her husband. Things got so bad, RFK Jr. was ready to take drastic measures: He proposed a fake divorce to protect Hines.

Following his headline-making comments at that 2022 anti-vaccination rally in D.C., RFK Jr. was inundated with criticism, as the Auschwitz Memorial called his remarks "a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay," per the Independent. The hurt and anger were so potent that Cheryl Hines, who had mostly kept quiet, was forced to take to X, formerly Twitter, to publicly denounce her husband. "While we love each other, we differ on many current issues," she wrote. Soon after, RFK Jr. also apologized on X, explaining, "My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control."

However, the backlash continued. "You married a creep," wrote one critic, per the Daily Mail, while another called her a hypocrite and yet another slammed, "@CherylHines used to be funny. Now she's just a joke." The mounting criticism took a real toll on Hines and so, RFK Jr. proposed a fake split. "I saw how it was affecting her life and I said to her, 'We should just announce that we are separated,' so that you can have some distance from me," he told the New York Times. "I felt so desperate about protecting her at a time where my statements and my decisions were impacting her." He went as far as to write a press release announcing the split, but Hines didn't go for it. Even though she reprimanded him, she stood by him, even telling the outlet, "I see both sides of the vaccine situation."

Before RFK Jr. announced that he would challenge President Joe Biden as a Democratic candidate in April 2023, he asked Cheryl Hines for permission. Despite all the hate they'd already received, the actor agreed. Even so, she admitted to The New York Times that being in her position has been tough. "I support Bobby and I want to be there for him," she shared. "At the same time, I don't feel the need to go to every political event, because I do have my own career."

Indeed, she's tried her best to separate herself from her husband's politics and yet, she's not about to turn her back on him. When The Hollywood Reporter asked Hines in January 2024 how she feels about people calling her husband a conspiracy theorist, she said she simply didn't get it. "I would think that you would see the world through a different lens if you saw your uncle be assassinated, then your father," she argued. She also highlighted her husband's positive work as an environmental lawyer. What's more, she told the New York Times she's willing to make sacrifices for his campaign (RFK Jr. announced he'd run as an independent in October 2023), and even change her speech. "Before this, really, my world was just about comedy, so I could make light of things," she said. "Now I understand people are listening in a different way."