Who Was RFK Jr.'s Second Wife And What Happened To Her?

This article contains details of suicide.

No matter who they are or how much they believe they can thwart what has long been dubbed the "Kennedy Curse," calamity seems to follow those who marry into America's most well-known political dynasties. The tragedy surrounding the Kennedy family is well documented. Those who are lucky enough to escape an unfortunate death while carrying the Kennedy name often find themselves navigating troubled marriages. Mary Richardson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr's. ex-wife, sadly ended up with not only an unhappy marriage, but also died under tragic circumstances.

Before Richardson's life turned upside down while carrying the Kennedy name, she was an architect passionate about using her skills to protect the environment. She did just that with her and RFK Jr.'s home, restoring it to its former glory after it got flooded. This wasn't her first major project — before she married RFK Jr., Richardson landed the job of a lifetime, renovating the Naval Observatory. She also spent some time working with creative mastermind Andy Warhol. Those who knew Richardson weren't surprised that her career took off the way it did — she was smart as a whip, had excellent style, and fit right in with the '80s Manhattan crowd. She appeared to have a bright future ahead of her, but when she met RFK Jr., everything changed.

Speaking on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" segment, Kennedy biographer Laurence Leamer seemed to indicate that one could hardly have expected Richardson's life to remain free of disaster after she fell in love with RFK Jr. "We know from a history of this family, it's very hard being a Kennedy, either being a blood Kennedy or being married to one," he said. "The overwhelming celebrity, the attention, the obligations, the expectations that you're supposed to do something with your life. It's very, very hard."

Mary Richardson's journey to becoming a Kennedy began when she was just 15 years old and enrolled at Putney, a private boarding school. It was there she met RFK Jr's. sister Kerry Kennedy, and not long after, Kerry's entire family, including her brother and Richardson's future husband. "For the rest of her life, [Richardson] spent nearly every weekend and vacation with our family," Kerry wrote in an essay for HuffPost. "We were roommates from the time we were 15 until 30, when I got married and four years later, she married my brother."

Kerry sketched a beautiful picture of their friendship — they were more like sisters than friends and shared everything. According to Kerry, Richardson was somewhat of a genius, and "the smartest student at Putney." But this didn't go to her head. Instead, Richardson showed compassion to her fellow students and helped them where she could, whether with homework assignments or providing a sympathetic ear when they dealt with personal issues.

Kerry and Richardson went on to attend Brown University together, and from there, Richardson went out into the world and left her mark on everyone she met. Kerry described her as a do-gooder, someone who stepped up when others needed help without needing to be asked, going as far as to call Richardson "a gift from the heavens."

It should probably not come as a surprise that Mary Richardson and RFK Jr.'s relationship didn't start off on the best foundation. When the two started dating, RFK Jr. was still married to his soon-to-be ex-wife, Emily Black Kennedy. "Mary was fooling around with Bobby when he was married to Emily, but that marriage was essentially over," a friend of RFK Jr.'s told Newsweek. "It ended amicably and it was just the right thing to do. But Bobby is a philanderer. Always was, always will be. And Mary knew that."

As RFK Jr. and Richardson both excelled in their respective careers — he as a lawyer who had developed an interest in environmental conservation and she as an environmentally-conscious architect — the two realized they had more in common than they thought. Richardson got pregnant, and the two married six months later. "I have never seen two people more thoroughly enchanted with one another and more completely in love. They brought out the best in one another, and spoke about each other with wonder and awe," Kerry Kennedy wrote in an essay for HuffPost. "Even at the most difficult times, they were still devoted to one another, compassionate, caring, concerned."

Others who were close to the couple thought the same thing. Chris Bartle, who the pair named the godfather of their firstborn, told Newsweek that the two appeared to be a match made in heaven. "[Kennedy] thought he had finally met the person that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. They couldn't take their eyes off each other, couldn't keep their hands off each other. She was glowing and he was repeatedly saying how much he loved her and how glad he was they had gotten together," Bartle recalled.

It can no doubt be challenging to step into the role of a stepmother, and according to RFK Jr., Mary Richardson and his daughter, Kick Kennedy, didn't get along as well as one would've hoped.

In an affidavit submitted to the court during his divorce proceedings, RFK Jr. recalled how his daughter told him she suspected Richardson of pilfering some of her possessions. RFK Jr. said he didn't believe it possible at the time and told his daughter that Richardson wouldn't do such a thing, that she loved Kick dearly. His daughter responded, "No, Daddy, Mary hates me" (via Newsweek). 

RFK Jr. would later find his daughter's lost belongings hidden in his wife's closet. Years later, Kick confided in him that Richardson abused her — both physically and emotionally. Kick claimed that Richardson once slapped her after she had a disagreement with one of her kids. "Mary began to be abusive toward both my children and particularly hateful toward [my daughter]" RFK Jr. later wrote in the affidavit (via CBS News).

Among the many things RFK Jr. revealed in his affidavit, he also disclosed that Mary Richardson had been dealing with severe mental illness. He claimed that his wife's psychotherapist called a meeting to inform him of Richardson's diagnosis. "You are married to a woman who has borderline personality disorder," Richardson's doctor, Sheenah Hankin, reportedly told him (via Newsweek). RFK Jr. then claimed that Hankin urged him to read books about the condition. This helped him have a better understanding of what was happening to his wife and explained her erratic behavior, but it didn't make dealing with it any easier. He recalled how she would often have violent outbursts that were directed at both him and his children, alleging that Richardson once punched him in the face during one such outburst, leaving him with a black eye.

Kerry Kennedy also opened up about her lifelong friend's mental health issues after her death. In an article published by the New York Post, Kerry explained that she'd always known about Richardson's struggle with depression. "Mary didn't ask for this disease, she never deserved it, and she took every step, from those prescribed by doctors to looking to God, to try and find a way out of it," Kerry wrote. "Mary was a hero. For six agonizing years, she embarked on an odyssey so harrowing that Dante himself would tremble at the courage of that tender, luminous woman who walked through the mouth of hell," she continued, praising Richardson for fighting so hard to overcome her demons.

When one compares RFK Jr.'s claims about Mary Richardson's mental illness in his affidavit with what Richardson's psychotherapist Sheenah Hankin told journalist Maureen Callahan in an interview for the book, "Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed," their accounts of Richardson's mental health vary greatly. Hankin told Callahan that RFK Jr. urged her to declare his wife mentally ill, but she couldn't make the diagnosis in good conscience. "Your wife isn't mentally ill," Hankin told him. "She is angry and depressed, but she is not ill." Hankin told Callahan that RFK Jr. went on to have his wife hospitalized against her will, claiming that he told her she'd be "better off dead."

Reports indicate that RFK Jr. was a serial cheater while he was married to Richardson, and she knew he was being unfaithful, which didn't do her mental health any favors. "Gaslit. That's how Mary felt. The more pain she was in, the worse Bobby treated her," Callahan wrote. "Some days he wanted a divorce; others, he wanted to bring another woman into their bed, an idea that left her humiliated. She rejected him outright."

If RFK Jr.'s account of events can be believed, his and Mary Richardson's problems started before they even got married, and they would continue to escalate as the years wore on. In her book, "Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed," Maureen Callahan details Richardson and RFK Jr.'s unhappy marriage, claiming that the latter was never around, only swinging by to pick up his kids every now and then, and on these occasions, he never invited his wife along. "He didn't have a job that required travel, yet he traveled all the time," Callahan wrote. "[Richardson] had become persona non grata, despite hosting all the dinner parties, the Fourth of July barbecues, the celebrity-studded fundraisers. Despite raising their children."

In his book, "RFK Jr.: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream," Jerry Oppenheimer details his disastrous marriage to Richardson and how she confided in friends that her husband was trying to convince her that she was crazy and called her a "borderline personality." Some of Richardson's friends told Oppenheimer that she was bullied by her husband. "She allegedly said she 'feared for her life,' claimed that Bobby 'repeatedly' told her that she would be 'better off dead,' and that it would be 'so much easier' if she killed herself," Oppenheimer wrote.

Dealing with mental health issues and a broken marriage eventually took their toll on Mary Richardson. In her book, "Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed," Maureen Callahan details Richardson's descent into addiction. She knew RFK Jr. was having various affairs, and this did nothing to help her already compromised mental health. Eventually, she reached for alcohol to numb the pain, and it became one of her worst-kept secrets.

Richardson's addiction first came to light after police caught her driving her car over a curb. Her blood alcohol level was found to be well above the legal limit and she was arrested. She pleaded guilty to the charge, which was later dismissed. Richardson faced another arrest when she took to the road while impaired due to the side effects of her prescription medication. When RFK Jr. filed for divorce, Richardson reached for alcohol again, and the two got into a heated argument when he took their kids to a carnival. Richardson was livid, but RFK Jr. claimed he'd taken the kids away to keep them from seeing their mother in that state.

On some occasions, Richardson's drinking was so bad that she would pass out in the middle of a meal. Speaking to Newsweek, the family's former housekeeper revealed that her drinking escalated after RFK Jr. filed for divorce. "I saw her in the kitchen, like with her head down, and I was like, Oh, golly, she's talking on the phone and crying," the housekeeper recalled. "But then I get close to her, and she was passed out. The plate of food was old, and her face was on top of the plate. And that day, she was drinking a lot."

While RFK Jr. is said to have carried on various affairs during his marriage to Mary Richardson, some claim he cut his wife off financially after he filed for divorce. RFK Jr. immediately started dating Cheryl Hines, seemingly determined to leave Richardson in his past. In the book, "Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed," Maureen Callahan writes how Richardson soon realized her soon-to-be ex-husband had abandoned her completely. "He cut off Mary's credit card, court-approved for $20,000 a month in living expenses. She was no longer welcome at the Kennedy compound. Her checking account had a zero balance. She was reduced to asking other moms at the school run if they had an extra $20 so she could get gas and groceries. The whole town knew she was broke," Callahan wrote.

After Richardson's death, RFK Jr. claimed "I did everything I could to help her" during his eulogy, and resorted to playing the victim, saying his wife blamed him for not being able to continue her career after they had children.

Amid her addiction and the messy divorce proceedings, Mary Richardson lost custody of her children and only saw them occasionally. Because of her addiction, she wasn't allowed to see the children unsupervised, and the family's housekeeper had to keep a watchful eye on Richardson whenever her four kids came to visit. Often, despite having her kids over, Richardson would get drunk. This didn't do her any favors with the court. She was ordered to see a psychologist if she ever hoped to regain custody of her kids, but even showing up to appointments proved difficult for Richardson, who canceled twice. The psychologist wasn't having it and made sure all parties involved were aware that Richardson wasn't holding up her end of the bargain. When she did finally attend a session, Richardson was convinced the psychologist wouldn't make an assessment in her favor, and this left her in a very dark state of mind.

Amid the custody battle, Richardson also had multiple restraining orders against her, all filed by RFK Jr. in an attempt to maintain full custody. "He was going for full custody of the kids, which broke her heart. She also had been part of the Kennedy family for 30 years. And now she was being cast aside by them," a family friend told the New York Post. Another insider said that Richardson was appalled by RFK Jr.'s unashamed continuation of his relationship with Cheryl Hines. "At an event last month, he walked the red carpet with Cheryl as a couple and took the kids," the source said.

After being one of society's most prominent figures, Mary Richardson found herself at rock bottom. She was broke, she'd lost custody of her kids, and she faced losing the only home she'd known for years once her divorce from RFK Jr. was finalized. The future looked pretty bleak, and according to insiders, the thought of losing her kids for good was unthinkable. Richardson had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. In the end, she completely withdrew from the world, and the family's housekeeper became worried when Richardson spent hardly any time out of bed. This went on for three days. On the fourth day, the housekeeper, her husband, and RFK Jr. would find Richardson in the barn on the family's property, hanging from the rafters.

Richardson's suicide was a big shock for her family and friends, many of whom later said they suspected she gave up because she stood to lose everything. "She loved [RFK Jr.]. Her family and her home [were] her heart and soul," a family friend told the New York Post. "Even after they separated, she was pretending everything was fine. She'd still call him her husband. It was bizarre and sad." Another friend blamed RFK Jr. for Richardson's death. "He was kicking her while she's down, all alone in this house that she built. In the end, everything was just too much," they said. Richardson's bosom friend, Kerry Kennedy, expressed her reverence to her late friend and her brave fight against her mental illness. "It was not something that she asked for; it was something that she was dealt," Kerry told The New York Times (via the New York Post).

Even after Mary Richardson's tragic death, RFK Jr's. complicated family dynamics continued to make headlines. Despite Richardson's family's request to bury her in Westchester, New York, RFK Jr. wouldn't budge. They eventually filed a lawsuit in an attempt to have Richardson buried in Westchester, but the court ruled in Kennedy's favor. Richardson was subsequently buried in the Kennedy family plot in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

One would have hoped Richardson could finally rest in peace after the entire ordeal, but alas, that was not the case. A few months later, it came to light that RFK Jr. had his ex-wife's remains exhumed and moved to an empty plot about 700 feet from the original gravesite. The move occurred without notifying Richardson's family members, who were none too pleased with RFK Jr.'s decision. "We were unaware of this, and we were not informed about it," the Richardson family's lawyer told the New York Daily News at the time (via NBC News). The gravedigger who moved Richardson's casket told the outlet, "[Robert] didn't realize how crowded the area was until after the funeral, and he wanted to have the ability to lay his wife to rest among her family members. He opted for an area of the cemetery where there is room for future expansion."

The move resulted in Richardson's grave being left without a headstone, on its lonesome, in what, according to author Maureen Callahan, was a less-than-ideal spot.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.