Strange Things About Cheryl Hines And Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
As with many love stories, Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines' romance with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got off to a slow start at first. After dating for two years, their love turned into a life-long commitment of marriage in 2014.
Per Daily Mail, Hines' and Kennedy's special day took place at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, which includes three houses spread across a six-acre property along the beach. The wedding seemed just as divine as its location, with singer Natasha Bedingfield even serenading the couple with a live version of her hit "Unwritten." There was a four-tiered white buttercream cake, dressed in pale pink with hand-painted blue flowers outlined in gold. It complimented the special day's theme of light blue and ivory white, which were also the colors of Hines' bouquet.
Before this extravagant wedding took place, though, there were some truly strange details about Hines and Kennedy's relationship, from an unexpected matchmaker to a sordid cheating scandal. Let's dig in.
They were introduced by Larry David
Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. first began dating in 2012, according to The Washington Post. Their matchmaker was none other than Larry David, Hines' co-star on Curb Your Enthusiasm. David introduced the couple at three different ski resorts, first in Banff, Alabama; then again in Deer Valley, Utah; and a last time in Aspen, Colorado. Turns out third time's a charm, because after that, the two finally hit it off.
"I was separated at the time, and Cheryl was still married," Kennedy recalled in a New York Times profile. Things didn't progress until later, when Hines was divorced. She said she was surprised by how funny Kennedy was. "People in my circle tend to look at people in politics as being boring," she explained.
David also intervened in the relationship one more time, when Kennedy expressed "concern about dating an actress" and turned to David for advice. "She's the most solid person I've ever met, and the most beloved person among her peers," David reportedly said. "Nothing you ever do will rattle her."
Naturally, David was at the pair's wedding. But his reaction wasn't what you might expect.
Their wedding day didn't go according to plan
Larry David attended Cheryl Hines' and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s wedding in 2014, along with some other celebrity guests, including Veep actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her husband Brad Hall, per Daily Mail. The two tied the knot on an especially rainy day, with their vows delayed by three hours thanks to a New England downpour. Though the couple had to move the ceremony indoors due to the weather, everyone was all smiles — except for one person.
David's enthusiasm looked especially curbed, with the comedian seen slumped and wearing a frown during part of the occasion. Daily Mail's headline even called him "very grumpy." But his humor seemed restored eventually — one photo shows him smiling while holding a plate filled to the brim with lobster and mussels.
The wedding day was also unusual in another way: Hines walked down the aisle with her shaggy dog, Che, instead of a human relative.
Perhaps the oddest moment, though, came after the wedding when The Telegraph misreported that late politician Ted Kennedy, who died in 2009, led the toasts at their 2014 wedding. One Twitter user awkwardly noted that Ted "was definitely not at his nephew's wedding."
In many ways, though, the day was a hit. Hines' and Kennedy's loved ones were all in attendance, there was a feast of New England seafood, and the couple went on an afternoon sail, as is Kennedy wedding tradition (via Entertainment Tonight).
Hines is close with all of her 'three' husbands
Cheryl Hines was still married to her ex, Paul Young, when she met her now-husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In an interview with Closer Weekly, Hines delved deeper into the "interesting relationship" she has with Larry David, her ex-husband, and her current husband. She joked that she now has "three" husbands total.
"Larry David was my first husband, because when I started doing Curb Your Enthusiasm, I was single and had never been married before," Cheryl Hines explained. "Then I married Paul Young, and then I married Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
"When I got a star on Hollywood Boulevard [in 2014], all three of them were in the front row," she continued. Young is the father of Hines' teenage daughter, so it's understandable that they're still close. He even produced the 2018 comedy-drama series This Close, in which Hines stars as Stella. "My agent's always like, 'That's a sitcom, Cheryl!'" she said about her ongoing relationship with Young.
Kennedy has a sordid relationship history
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has his own complex relationship history. When he first met Cheryl Hines, he was separated from his then-wife, Mary Richardson. Richardson eventually died by suicide in 2012, per The New York Times. The marriage and death were plagued by scandal, with reports that Kennedy had cheated on Richardson dozens of times.
The New York Post revealed the scandals after Kennedy's secret diary was reportedly leaked. In the diary, he allegedly wrote about his "lust demons" and at least 37 acts of infidelity. One day included a whopping three separate unfaithful encounters. Kennedy and Richardson were still legally married when she died; at the time, he was dating Hines.
According to Page Six, Kennedy's friends were skeptical of Hines' decision to marry him despite his reputation. "Any woman who thinks they're going to change Bobby is misguided and purposefully ignorant. Women have to understand what they're getting into when they're with him," said a close friend of Kennedy's in Jerry Oppenheimer's book, RFK Jr.: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream.
Sources in the book also reported that Richardson was the one who introduced the couple, not Larry David. Richardson felt "very betrayed" by the relationship, one source said.
Hines and Kennedy have managed to stay out of the headlines since their wedding. But with all this controversy, their story is still remarkable — and still unfolding.