What We Know About RFK Jr.'s First Wife, Emily Ruth Black
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threw his hat in the ring for the 2024 United States presidential elections, the public was instantly reminded that he's married to a Hollywood star. Kennedy exchanged vows with "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "A Bad Moms Christmas" actor Cheryl Hines in August 2014. The two have been living a lavish life in California ever since, but Hines' marriage to RFK Jr. notably isn't his first — she's actually his third wife. Kennedy was previously married to second wife Mary Richardson, and before that, to Emily Ruth Black.
Black met Kennedy when they were both law students at the University of Virginia. The couple got married in April 1982, when she was 24 and he was 27. They welcomed two children, Robert Kennedy III and Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, and remained together for 12 years before divorcing. The controversial politician's third wife may be in the spotlight due to her career, but Black has led a more low-key life. She grew up in Bloomington, IN, the daughter of a schoolteacher mom, and a father who passed away when Black was just two.
Despite RFK Jr. being a part of the famous political dynasty, and several Kennedy women serving as bridesmaids, the couple's relatively quaint marriage ceremony took place in her hometown in Indiana.
Black worked extensively as a public defender
When Emily Ruth Black and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got hitched, she had already received her law degree from the University of Virginia (Kennedy was still in his third year at the time). RFK Jr. joked that while the two of them were both planning on becoming practicing attorneys, their goals were very different. "She's interested in keeping people out of jail, and I'm interested in putting them in," he proudly declared, per the New York Times. When the couple moved to New York, Black was hired as a criminal defense lawyer, working for the Manhattan Legal Aid Society. She took on her husband's surname, adding the famous Kennedy moniker to her official ID.
As Black acknowledged to People, "I never considered not changing my name, just out of tradition," (via United Press International). They divorced in 1994, with Kennedy marrying his second wife, who was six months pregnant, just three weeks later. Since then, Black has seemingly led a pretty quiet life, with no media presence. She's still a registered attorney in the state of New York but you won't find her involved in any high-profile cases like one of Donald Trump's hush-money trial lawyers. She also lived in Washington D.C. for a short time, and eventually found love again with someone from her hometown of Bloomington, IN, where Black currently owns a home.