From Hollywood to Washington, D.C., Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have found themselves in the center of some tight circles.
The couple — who were first introduced to each other by Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David — met in 2006. It wasn’t until late 2011, however, when things turned romantic between the pair.
“We share the same values. Family first,” Hines gushed to Us Weekly in April 2014, just one month before getting engaged. “We like to have a good time and work hard.”
Married since August 2014, the couple have found themselves under a new level of scrutiny ever since Kennedy was named the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for President Donald Trump’s administration.
As a result, Hines has been forced to face some difficult questions about her husband’s personal and professional life.
Keep reading to see some of the times Hines has publicly defended or stood up for Kennedy:
Cheryl Hines on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Alleged Affair With a Journalist
In September 2024, Kennedy was accused of having an “inappropriate personal relationship” with a journalist. Both the reporter and Kennedy denied having a physical relationship.
Nearly a year later, Hines addressed the alleged relationship.
“I don’t think there’s any point to going through every rumor and headline to try to defend or explain it,” Hines told the Wall Street Journal in an August 2025 interview. “Bobby and I talk about everything, so that’s how we move through everything, and we’re really good friends, and we trust each other.”
Cheryl Hines on Alleged Kennedy Family Rift
Hines described the public split between her husband and his relatives as “disappointing.”
“It was hard. I found it to be hard,” Hines told CBS News in October 2025. “I always thought the Kennedy family, one of their virtues was that family came first, and I admired that … when some of his family decided to … attack him publicly, it was disappointing.”
Former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy called Robert’s views “dangerous,” while four other relatives signed a letter denouncing his presidential candidacy as “perilous for our country.” (Kennedy endorsed Trump after dropping out of the race for president in 2024.)
Cheryl Hines Clarifies Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Brain Worm
During an October 2025 appearance on The View, Joy Behar asked Hines to clarify whether her husband really has a brain worm.
“It ate just a little bit of his brain and died. So, don’t worry,” she replied before promoting her book, Unscripted. “You’ve got to read my book. That was just one, tiny headline in a mountain of crazy.”
Robert previously revealed the parasitic brain worm died on its own, and he did not require treatment.
Cheryl Hines Defends Robert F. Kennedy’s Job Position
While appearing on The View in October 2025, Hines chose to defend her husband after cohost Sunny Hostin called him “the least qualified” person to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Hines noted that “90 percent of Secretaries of HHS have not been doctors” and pointed out that one of President Barack Obama‘s “Secretaries of HHS was an economist.”
Cheryl Hines Shares Her Secrets to a Successful Marriage
In a rare interview before the 2024 presidential election, Hines shared a glimpse into what makes her marriage strong.
“There has to be a connection,” the actress exclusively told Us in October 2024. “There’s, like, a connection that you look at your husband or your partner and all the crazy going on around you, or you look and you check in and it’s like, ‘OK. It’s going to be OK. We’re going to move through this moment.’ And, you know, a lot of times it’s funny and you can lean over and say, ‘This is crazy balls,’ and have a moment together and then hold your head up high and go to the next thing.”
Cheryl Hines Defends Staying Married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After being married to Kennedy for more than 11 years, Hines said her friends still ask why she doesn’t end her marriage.
“I’ve always been a very family-oriented person. It’s always been family first,” she said on an October 2025 episode of the “Juicy Scoop With Heather McDonald” podcast. “Some people feel like, ‘Oh, you should leave him.’ Why? Because you don’t like his politics?’ That’s not what our marriage is about.”
Cheryl Hines Insists Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Not Trying to Hurt People
Cheryl Hines gave a three-hour interview to “The Joe Rogan Experience” in February 2026 where she insisted that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been unfairly demonized.
“When people talk about Bobby and they want to paint him as somebody who is trying to hurt people, it’s like, look at his career and who he is and what he’s accomplished,” Hines told host Joe Rogan.
In his role as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” policies — including reshaping the nutritional pyramid and loosening federal vaccine guidelines — have faced significant pushback. Still, Hines insisted that Kennedy “spent a lot of time suing huge corporations because they were polluting waterways, which was hurting people, killing people and giving people cancer.”
“Why would he spend all of his life fighting for people, fighting for individuals, and then suddenly change and want to hurt people?” she asked host Joe Rogan. “It just doesn’t track.”
Cheryl Hines Says Attacks on Her Character Have Been Hurtful
During her discussion with Joe Rogan, Cheryl Hines admitted that it was “painful” to see friends turn against her over her marriage. Hines suggested that the experience taught her which friendships “rise to the top” in times of hardship.
“It was interesting to watch people change their attitude about me or [say] I’m not the person they thought I was. [That] type of feeling,” Hines admitted to host Joe Rogan during a three-hour interview published in February 2026. “That was strange because I’m still the same person. That was, and still is too, in a sense very strange.”
Hines added that concerns for Kennedy’s safety were “the most stressful” even as she was facing widespread scrutiny over her marriage.
“Having [Secret Service] around you all the time is crazy,” Hines said. “Also, what’s disturbing is you learn what to look for and what to do in an emergency. Things that you wouldn’t [normally] think about but now you walk into a room and you look at people and you think, ‘OK, that guy’s sweating a lot for no reason.’”
