Cheryl Hines Talks Going ‘Through A Lot Of Darkness’ In Her Marriage

Cheryl Hines is pulling back the curtain on her recent emotional struggles brought on by her marriage, politics, and other personal issues.

The actress claimed that she “went through a lot of darkness” but is now “definitely in a new chapter.”

Cheryl Hines has a new book out titled “Unscripted,” where she details navigating the highs and lows of fame, family, and other personal matters.

Speaking in an interview with Page Six, Hines got candid about her personal life, explaining that she went through a period of great emotional burden.

“I went through a lot of darkness and not only because of politics,” said the 60-year-old, who is married to prominent American politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The darkness was in part due to the loss of her nephew, Michael, to cerebral palsy, a loss  she described as “heartbreaking.”

Then there was the “chaos” that seemingly came with last year’s allegations from Olivia Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, claiming that Nuzzi had a nearly year-long affair with her husband after interviewing him for New York Magazine.

According to Hines, those moments were “dark times” for her, and dealing with them all likely required every ounce of emotional strength she had.

Now, she says she is in a much better place than she could have imagined at the time she was dealing with her issues.

“I am definitely in a new chapter that I could never have predicted I would be in,” she added.

In her new book, “Unscripted,” Hines explained why she remains committed to her marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite the scandals he has brought her way and the many challenges that come with being married to a politician who is currently the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“There’s extremes on both sides to Bobby — and being his wife — because there are a lot of people who absolutely love and support him,” she said. “And then there are people who, no matter what he accomplishes, are still going to criticize him.”

His traits, according to Hines, endear her to him, despite people often questioning why she has remained in the marriage.

“And I thought it was important for me to say: this is why I love him. This is who he is as a person, and this is who we are to each other. If I’m just telling the truth about what I’ve been through … it makes me feel better because they’re my own words and you can’t misconstrue them,” she further remarked.

As for the alleged cheating, Hines revealed in her memoir that she got wind of it while on vacation in Italy with some of her and Kennedy’s children from previous relationships, including her daughter, Catherine, 21.

Describing how she felt in that moment, Hines claimed that “insinuations were upsetting and overwhelming.”

However, she did her best to “table [her] breakdown until I was alone,” but in her heart of hearts she knew she “had hit a wall.”

Upon returning home from Europe after staying back “for a while,” Hines said she “felt so distant from” the man whom she called her husband.

“It seemed like the only threads that were connecting me to him were directly tied to all of our kids … I respected and adored them too much not to listen to what Bobby had to say,” she added.

In the end, they were able to “drill down on the truth” and tighten the ties of their love and marriage.