For most people, marriage is a private affair — a partnership built behind closed doors. But for Cheryl Hines, her marriage to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been anything but private. In her newly released memoir Unscripted, the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress opens up about one of the most vulnerable and startling moments of her life: the time her husband suggested they fake a separation to shield her from the harsh political storm surrounding his campaign.

“It was a very sweet notion,” Hines recalls in her memoir. “But yeah, I didn’t think that was helpful.”

According to Hines, the idea came from a place of love. As RFK Jr.’s campaign drew controversy and criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, Hines found herself caught in the crossfire. Online attacks, public judgment, and the weight of association began to take a toll on her — not as an actress, but as a wife and mother.

“Some people were very upset that I was even married to Bobby,” she said. “They were vocally coming at me because I’m married to Bobby. So Bobby felt like, ‘You shouldn’t be having to take that heat. So why don’t we just say we’re separated?’”

The suggestion might sound shocking, but for the Kennedys, danger has always been a shadow that follows. For Hines, the political chaos was accompanied by a deeper, more visceral fear — the fear of losing her husband.

“I was very fearful for his safety,” she wrote. “As most people know, his uncle, John Kennedy, was assassinated. His father, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated while he was running for president.”

The echoes of history haunted their home. Despite multiple requests, RFK Jr. was repeatedly denied Secret Service protection — an unsettling fact given the Kennedy family’s tragic past. “At the time, Bobby kept requesting Secret Service and kept getting denied. So it was a very stressful time,” Hines admitted.

In Unscripted, Hines doesn’t just recount political tension — she humanizes it. Her story isn’t about party lines or campaign slogans, but about the private toll of public life. As the hate grew louder, she and RFK Jr. chose not to retreat into bitterness but to stand even closer together.

Rather than staging a separation for optics, Hines decided the best way to weather the storm was through honesty — and love. “It wasn’t easy,” she writes. “But pretending wasn’t the answer. Being real, even when it hurts, was.”

The couple’s marriage became a microcosm of what it means to live in the public eye — every word dissected, every choice scrutinized. Hines reveals that her husband’s campaign brought out both the best and the worst in people, but through it all, she learned to define herself not by politics, but by purpose.

She describes the moments when she sat in silence watching RFK Jr. speak at rallies, torn between pride and fear. “I was proud of his passion,” she writes. “But every time he stepped onto a stage, part of me was terrified. You can’t forget the family history. You just… can’t.”

Despite the darkness, Hines’s memoir is not one of despair, but of resilience. She portrays her marriage not as perfect, but profoundly human — filled with compassion, fear, humor, and endurance. Through it all, she found her own voice, one that refuses to be silenced by public opinion.

“I learned that love isn’t about hiding from the fire,” she reflects. “It’s about walking through it together.”

Today, as RFK Jr.’s campaign continues to draw attention and controversy, Hines remains by his side — not out of obligation, but conviction. The couple’s story has become emblematic of the personal sacrifices behind public lives. And while the fake separation never happened, the idea symbolizes just how far one might go to protect someone they love.

Hines’s Unscripted is more than a celebrity memoir — it’s a raw glimpse into the cost of loving someone the world won’t stop judging. It’s about marriage under pressure, the courage to stay true, and the hope that honesty still matters in a world addicted to spectacle.

“Bobby wanted to protect me,” she concludes. “But in the end, what protected us most was the truth.”