RFK Jr’s uncle, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was considered quite the womanizer. The former President was widely reported to have had affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Judith Campbell Exner, Gene Tierney, Mimi Alford, Angie Dickinson, and White House secretaries Priscilla Wear and Jill Cowen, nicknamed “Fiddle and Faddle,” among others.
Another uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, was also a philanderer. During his first marriage to Joan Bennett Kennedy, Ted was involved in several cheating scandals. His grandfather, Joseph Kennedy, had multiple affairs. His father, Bobby, had affairs with Kim Novak and Lee Remick. According to FBI files, he also slept with Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy for four years after the assassination of her husband, JFK.
It comes as no surprise that RFK, Jr. was a cheater; his mother, Ethel, once said, “There was no tradition of monogamy in the Kennedy clan.” RFK, Jr. may have been the biggest womanizer of them all. His second wife, Mary Richardson, found the diaries of his conquests. Kennedy tried to remember who’s who by adding details to each contact, such as their location and job descriptions. Word has it that the controversial politician had a lady in every city, and he didn’t always go by his given name. His late wife, Mary Richardson, claimed he often went by Robert Strong when he spent time with female companions on his travels. There are recordings of Bobby Jr. telling his wife it was her fault he cheated on her 37 times because he felt abused at home.
His first wife, Emily Ruth Black, divorced RFK Jr. after his infidelity and addiction to heroin. Before their 1994 divorce was final, RFK, Jr. proposed to his second wife, Mary Richardson. Mary eventually became depressed and turned to alcohol. She filed for divorce in 2010, but before the divorce was final, she was found dead in her home in Bedford, New York. Many considered her death suspicious, but it was declared a suicide. Several women involved with the Kennedys died mysterious deaths, including Marilyn Monroe, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Mary Jo Kopechne. Bobby Jr. remained happy-go-lucky without a care in the world.
“A lot of life is about trying to turn bad experiences into something good. Usually if you work at it, you can figure out a way to do it. Even our worst misfortunes are gifts.”
RFK Jr. and Cheryl Hines began dating in 2011 (while still married to Mary) after being introduced by mutual friends. Reports of RFK Jr.’s alleged affair with journalist Olivia Nuzzi created strain. Hines acknowledged the pain but said she and RFK Jr. worked through it by maintaining open communication. Despite all the previous messiness, his alleged affair with Nuzzi tops the list. A third party, journalist Ryan Lizza, compounded the messiness when he published excerpts of sexually explicit texts and poems RFK, Jr. sent to Nuzzi during their “emotional affair.”
“Yr open mouth awaiting my harvest.
I mean to squeeze your cheeks to force open your mouth.
I’ll hold your nose as you look yp at me to encourage you to swallow.
Don’t spill a drop.
I am a river. You are my canyon.
I mean to flow through you. I mean to subdue and tame you.
My Love”
Lizza is said to have learned the meaning of the word “felching” while reading the exchanges between Kennedy Jr. and Nuzzi. Lizza released the excerpts after learning Nuzzi planned to release a memoir that would include her relationship with the former presidential hopeful — a man who is still married.
For her part, Bobby Jr’s current wife, Cheryl Hines, addressed the scandal in her memoir Unscripted, describing the “pain” it caused and how she and RFK Jr. worked to rebuild trust.
The texts between Kennedy Jr. and Nuzzi became public knowledge in July 2024, shortly before he withdrew from the 2024 presidential campaign as an Independent. He then endorsed Donald Trump. On November 14, 2024, RFK Jr. was announced as Trump’s nominee for HHS Secretary.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s alleged text messages and affairs did not play a significant role in his Senate confirmation hearings for Health and Human Services Secretary in January–February 2025. Senators focused almost entirely on his public record on vaccines, health policy, abortion, and conspiracy theories.
Olivia Nuzzi was fired from New York Magazine in 2024 after disclosing that she had a personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a subject she had been covering as a political reporter. Nuzzi informed her editors that she had a “personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign.”
The scandal became widely reported, with critics calling her conduct “unethical” and “tabloid‑like.” Kennedy, Jr., on the other hand, brushed off the affair and went on to become a cabinet member. In no universe would a woman have been able to behave as Kennedy has all his life and survive Senate confirmation. It’s not a surprise that Trump selected Kennedy. But RFK’s life has been messy, even for a Kennedy. Apparently, there are no consequences.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.