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Cheryl Hines reached peak fame as Larry David's wife on HBO's comedy "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Then, she married Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an heir to America's most famous Democratic political dynasty. Now, he's President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services secretary and she has a new role: Her husband's biggest defender.During the press tour for her new memoir "Unscripted," out Nov. 11, Hines has been forced to stick to an unlikely script for those who have followed her journey from premier cable comedy star to wife of a Cabinet secretary.As her husband nears one year in his new job, Hines is nearing one year with a new life even as the country debates her spouse's controversial policy agenda including his beliefs about vaccines.During a "CBS Mornings" interview Tuesday, Oct. 7, with Natalie Morales, Hines admitted that she wasn't fully comfortable with her new role: "I don't think I'll ever get used to being a political spouse. A Cabinet spouse."Hines also told Morales she "found it to be hard" to see the "rift" between her husband and his Democratic family over politics. She also threw a bit of shade."I always thought the Kennedy family, one of their virtues was that family came first, and I admired that. So when some of his family decided to attack him publicly, it was disappointing," Hines said.Several members of the Kennedy family, including cousin Caroline Kennedy and some of his own siblings, have disavowed RFK Jr.'s stark political shift in recent years. But Hines claimed that Kennedy family matriarch and RFK Jr.'s mom Ethel Kennedy expressed shock at the family's reaction."Bobby told her that he was running for president, and she told him she was proud of him and then asked, 'Who of the siblings are working on your campaign?'" Hines recounted. "And he said that they're not working on it and some are opposing him. And she was very surprised."Cheryl Hines says RFK Jr. suggested split to save her from public backlashAs the country's political discourse intensifies, Hines offered advice for Americans facing their own divides."I think everyone needs to take a step back, listen to each other and find that place where it is OK to disagree with somebody," Hines said. "It's good to surround yourself with people who don't think exactly like you. But instead of hating somebody for that, maybe taking a minute to understand why they think like that."She said using that worldview has helped her relationship with RFK. Jr., who she married in 2014."We are really close. I like spending time with him. I love him. I love our family and our kids. It's not always going to be easy, but we also know not everybody's going to like what you're saying, what you're doing, and that's OK, too. It just is OK. That's life,'" Hines said.Despite their bond, Hines said Kennedy once suggested staging a separation to protect her from public backlash."I didn't understand what, how that was going to help," Hines said. "But I understood what he was talking about. I appreciated it."
