If being tone deaf were a competition, everyone in the trump administration would be up for an award. The latest person running is Robert F. Kennedy Jr..
RFK Jr. recently celebrated 11 years of marriage to his wife, actress Cheryl Hines. To commemorate the occasion, he made a post on his X account. However, rather than getting well wishes, he faced online criticism for what many called a “creepy” anniversary tribute.
The timing of the post could not be worse, as it was recently reported that RFK Jr was involved in a sexting scandal with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. The anniversary post quickly turned into a PR fiasco. If the idea behind the post came from RFK Jr., it was their finest moment.
It also raised fresh concerns over the couple’s strained public profile.
Kennedy is currently serving as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services. He took to X.com on August 3 to mark their 11th wedding anniversary. He shared a polished photo of himself smiling directly at the camera with Hines gently pressing her nose to his cheek.
His caption read: “Thanks for 11 years of love and laughter. You fill all my empty spaces.”
Thanks for eleven years of love and laughter. You fill all my empty spaces. pic.twitter.com/zvXw9NRLYB
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 3, 2025
There was a fair share of followers who admired RFK’s post, but then several others found the post unsettling, given RFK’s history with his wife and the new scandal with Nuzzi.
One commenter bluntly wrote, “Not gonna lie, kinda creepy,” while another quipped, “A lot of empty spaces in your brain, that’s for sure.”
Kennedy’s sexting scandal with Nuzzi had dampened any sincerity he had in the post or towards his wife, despite his claim that the affair was never physical.
In September 2024, it was revealed that Kennedy had exchanged intimate messages with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. He reportedly did this without disclosing the developing personal relationship to her employer. This incident led to professional and personal fallout for Nuzzi and RFK Jr.
Olivia Nuzzi’s behavior with RFK Jr. is an indictment on journalism itself, but the fact that she’s been allowed to rise to the top despite being so awful at her job, and that she’s been defended so often, should also cause self-reflection. My latest:https://t.co/0wFCeLeDMo
— Jeremy Fassler (@J_fassler) September 20, 2024
This also included tensions between Kennedy and Hines.
However, despite all this, Hines has publicly maintained that she will support her husband through thick and thin.
In October 2024 RFK Lr. posted a tribute to his mother Ethel Kennedy and Hines commented saying that his post was very nice and his mother was very proud. She also attended the memorial services with Kennedy, even while the media speculated marital discord between the couple and rumours of divorce.
The anniversary tribute looks extremely polished and unnecessarily pushed out to quiet the rumors of separation between the couple. And it has only stoked further debate around the state of their marriage.
One insider said that Hines issued an ultimatum to Kennedy after the Nuzzi scandal. She had asked him to move closer to her in Washington, D.C. while she was also uncomfortable with his association with other powerful figures.
RFK kept a diary in 2001 where he recorded cheating on his wife with 37 different women. His wife, Mary Richardson Kenney, was pregnant that year. They had 4 kids together. She eventually found the diary. In 2010, RFK filed for divorce.
In his affidavit, Mary was portrayed as… pic.twitter.com/A4jgfT38Z9
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) August 26, 2024
However, the sexting scandal was not the only reason people found Kennedy’s post unsavory. RFK Jr. had a very public divorce with his second wife, Mary. He then told the court that due to his brain issues, he would not be able to pay her alimony. She died by suicide two years after the divorce. During the tail end of their marriage, it was revealed that RFK Jr. had cheated on her with at least 37 women and kept a diary of those encounters, which was then published.
RFK Jr. had been anything but a good and faithful husband to his second wife, and then was again involved in an extramarital affair while married for the third time. On top of that, to post something for his current wife, saying that she fills the gaps in his life, is probably the biggest mockery of the institution of marriage on the US political stage after Trump and his marriages.
