RFK Jr.’s Diaries Reveal Troubled Marriage Before Estranged Wife Mary Kennedy’s Death

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s private thoughts are coming to light, and they paint a troubled picture of his marriage to Mary Richardson Kennedy in the years before her death.

In excerpts from the upcoming biography RFK, Jr.: The Fall and Rise by Isabel Vincent, the politician’s own diary entries suggest he was aware of his self-sabotaging tendencies.

“I’ve been given everything that any person could wish for: A beautiful wife and kids and loving family, wealth, education and good health and job I love,” RFK Jr. wrote, per People. “And yet I’m always on the lookout for something I can’t have to wreck it all.”

RFK Jr., now 72, wrote that he “fell deeply in love” with Mary in 1993 while he was still married to his first wife, Emily Black. The two were estranged at the time and when Mary revealed she was pregnant, he quickly divorced Black and married her in April 1994.

However, RFK Jr. admitted he was never satisfied, writing that “no matter how much” he had, he wanted “more.” That extended to his desire for sex with other women, which he referred to as “mugging” in his diary.

Both RFK Jr. and Mary faced personal struggles during their marriage. He has spoken openly about his past drug and alcohol addiction and his commitment to a 12-step program, while Mary dealt with depression and alcohol use. According to the book, her mental health challenges were made worse by his alleged infidelity.

“He definitely gaslit her and told her that she was crazy and that her accusations about other women were fantasies,” a source told Vincent. “She was innocent and naive, but she drank, which was classic in the sense of being in pain a lot of the time.”

As tensions mounted, the couple’s Bedford, New York home became another source of strain, particularly during a renovation that turned their private life into something far more public. The constant entertaining and lack of privacy added pressure, especially for Mary, who was raising their children in the spotlight, according to the book.

Around Mother’s Day in 2010, the situation escalated when RFK Jr. told Mary he planned to file for divorce. In the days that followed, police were called to the home more than once amid family disputes, including an incident in which Mary was reported to be intoxicated.

He officially filed for divorce on May 12 of that same year and shortly after, Mary was arrested for drunk driving. A source cited in the book alleged that the incidents were later used against her during the couple’s contentious split.

On May 16, 2012, Mary’s body was discovered hanging from a beam in her garage. No suicide note was ever made public and it remains unclear if one was written.

The book states that the medical examiner’s report noted Mary’s fingers were caught between her neck and the noose, and her doctor allegedly wondered, “Maybe she really didn’t want to die.”

RFK Jr. had begun dating actress Cheryl Hines in 2011, and the two married in 2014.