Actor Cheryl Hines may be best known for her role alongside Larry David on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” but these days, she’s navigating a very different kind of spotlight — as the wife of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being a political spouse. A Cabinet spouse,” Hines told CBS News’ Natalie Morales.
She’s speaking about it in her new memoir, “Unscripted,” where she reflects on her unexpected journey from Hollywood to Washington politics.
Hines moved to Washington earlier this year after Kennedy joined President Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. It was David, her longtime co-star, who introduced her to Kennedy. The couple married in 2014.
In 2023, Hines supported her husband’s presidential campaign, but the experience brought deep anxiety and growing concerns for his safety. She said Kennedy did not receive United States Secret Service protection after launching his 2024 campaign in April of that year.
Hines said she often is worried about his safety given the Kennedy family’s history. Kennedy’s father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential campaign — just five years after his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was killed in Dallas while riding in a motorcade.
Navigating the vaccine debate
Those fears intensified as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became a prominent critic of COVID and vaccines, though Hines said their conflicting views haven’t strained their relationship.
“I’m definitely the one that has all the feelings and he’s the one that wants to talk about the facts and the studies, and so sometimes we really have a hard time communicating,” Hines said. “Bobby and I, we’re able to disagree on things. I mean, sometimes we have heated discussions, but we always come back around to, ‘I hear what you’re saying.'”
When asked about her stance on vaccines, Hines didn’t say where she stands on the debate, but said she sees both sides of the issue.
“I understand how people feel like, ‘We have to do it. Do not question it. If that’s what’s coming down from the government, let’s trust that.’ I understand that,” she said. “And then I also understand the mothers, the parents who talk to me personally and say, ‘My child was different after they got vaccinated.’ Let’s listen to people. Let’s listen to parents. Let’s listen to doctors, to science.”
Kennedy has clashed with some doctors and scientists who work for him, as well as members of his own family. His cousin Caroline Kennedy has publicly called his views on vaccines “dangerous” and “disqualifying.”
“It was hard. I found it to be hard,” Hines said of the family rift. “I always thought the Kennedy family, one of their virtues was that family came first, and I admired that. So when some of his family decided to attack him publicly, it was disappointing.”
Finding humor in politics
Hines said she relies on humor to cope with her new role.
“I’ll just act like I know what I’m doing until someone says, ‘Don’t curtsy. A curtsy is not needed in this moment,'” she joked.
The political arena has also affected Hines’ personal relationships in Hollywood.
“I have a few friends, when Bobby stepped into the political arena, it became too difficult emotionally for them to stay close, just a few friends,” she said. “And I understand it.”
When asked what David thought about Kennedy joining the Trump Cabinet, Hines said that’ll be a question for David.
“But let’s be honest: He can’t love it,” she said.
Hines said she is making friends in Washington, including with several spouses of other Cabinet members, and recalled that Kennedy once proposed staging a separation to protect her from public criticism.
“I didn’t understand what, how that was gonna help,” Hines said. “But I understood what he was talking about. I appreciated it.”
Their blended families — her daughter Cat and his six children from two previous marriages — have provided support through difficult times, including a public feud with some of Kennedy’s siblings who opposed his presidential platform.
Hines said even Kennedy’s mother, Ethel Kennedy, was surprised by the family division.
“Bobby told her that he was running for president, and she told him she was proud of him and then asked, ‘Who of the siblings are working on your campaign?'” Hines recounted. “And he said that they’re not working on it and some are opposing him. And she was very surprised.”
Political Violence and Moving Forward
Hines and Kennedy attended the memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination, and she said the dangerous political climate frightens her most.
When asked what needs to be done to lower the political temperature, Hines said: “I think everyone needs to take a step back, listen to each other and find that place where it is OK to disagree with somebody. It’s good to surround yourself with people who don’t think exactly like you. But instead of hating somebody for that, maybe taking a minute to understand why they think like that.”
That philosophy has helped even in her own marriage.
“We are really close. I like spending time with him. I love him. I love our family and our kids. It’s not always gonna be easy, but we also know not everybody’s gonna like what you’re saying, what you’re doing, and that’s OK, too. It just is OK. That’s life,'” she said.
“Unscripted” is available for pre-order and will be released Nov. 11.
