Cheryl Hines opens up about RFK Jr. offering fake split

Cheryl Hines revealed that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposed a fake separation to help her fend off flak from her Hollywood friends over his stance on Covid and vaccines. The admission comes just two months after she revealed he made a similar proposition after embarrassing reports emerged about his [sexual intercourse texting] fiasco with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. Speaking to Dr. Phil McGraw, the 60-year-old Emmy award-winning actress shared details about her husband's ploy, which she claimed was his solution to shield her from political attacks over his controversial opinions. 'I didn't consider it,' she said.

Hines admitted 'things got really intense' during that period of her life, but that the backlash she faced from her peers and friends never once led her to consider his offer seriously. 'Bobby was speaking out about vaccine safety, and he wanted to see the studies for the Covid vaccine,' she said. 'He had feelings about it being mandatory, he had feelings about the shutdown, and they weren't always popular, especially in this town. 'The general feeling was he should not be talking about this, and you should tell him not to talk about this, and why are you with him?' Hines noted that outside of Hollywood and the broader Los Angeles community, RFK Jr.'s arguments were resonating with voters, but that still didn't shield her from the backlash among A-listers and the elite.

'Suddenly people are asking me why I'm still married to him and some people were saying "I can't be around you because you're married to him,"' she revealed. 'That was hard at first and Bobby was seeing me go through that and he said maybe it would just be better if we just told people we weren't together. I said "I don't know if that is the solution." That was never the solution.' Even though she never seriously considered his proposal, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star said she 'thought it was sweet.'

'It was sensitive that he understood what he was seeing happen in my life. I have always put my family first and people have asked me how I could be with him because of his politics. I didn't marry him because of his politics, why would I leave him because of his politics? That's not the relationship we have.' Hines had earlier revealed that RFK Jr. made an identical proposal when he was officially campaigning for president in 2024, before endorsing Trump.

At the time, he was also embroiled in a scandalwith 32-year-old New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi (pictured), after it emerged that the pair became 'emotionally involved' while she was writing a feature on his campaign. 'For a couple to say, ''Maybe we should just say we're not with each other anymore and our lives would be easier''... That's pretty dramatic and pretty extreme,' she said. 'Things got dramatic during this presidential campaign. Some people were very upset that I was even married to Bobby. They were vocally coming at me because I'm married to Bobby. So Bobby felt, ''You shouldn't be having to take that heat. So why don't we just say we're separated?'''

Hines said the offer came from a place of concern, and ultimately brought them closer together. 'You're in these unique situations that nobody else can imagine,' she said. Kennedy denied any inappropriate relationship at the height of the scandal - claiming he met Nuzzi only once during an interview - but sources described the connection as 'emotional and digital in nature, not physical.' An internal investigation by New York Magazine found 'no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias' in Nuzzi's reporting on Kennedy, but the controversy nevertheless resulted in her departure from the publication.