RFK Jr. Plotted Fake Split from Cheryl Hines Amid Backlash for Controversial Anti-Vax Comments

In her first interview since he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, Hines was asked about his anti-vax stance and whether his beliefs have affected her professionally, while Kennedy himself revealed the lengths to which he was prepared to go to distance his other half from controversy.

"I support Bobby and I want to be there for him, and I want him to feel loved and supported by me," she said in a new profile with the New York Times, which comes after she had to call some of his comments "reprehensible and insensitive" back in January.

At the time, her husband made headlines for a speech he made during an anti-vax rally in Washington D.C. During a rally against vaccine mandates, Kennedy likened the policies enacted to fight the pandemic to Nazi Germany -- and even insinuated those facing persecution from the Nazis had better options than anti-vaxxers do now.

"Even in Hitler's Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you can hide in the attic like Anne Frank did. I visited in 1962, East Germany with my father and met people who climbed the wall and escaped. Many died doing it, but it was possible," he said during his speech.

Speaking with NYT, Kennedy said things got so bad for them at the time, he considered a fake split to lessen the damage toward Hines.

"I saw how it was affecting her life and I said to her, 'We should just announce that we are separated,' so that you can have some distance from me," he claimed. "We wouldn't really be doing anything, we would just — I felt so desperate about protecting her at a time where my statements and my decisions were impacting her."

Though he allegedly wrote up a release about the separation, it was never sent ... while Hines said she never even considered it. "It was also frustrating to hear Bobby say things that could so easily be twisted into snippets that misrepresented his meaning and didn't represent who he is," she added of his comments, before taking a "both sides" approach toward vaccines.

"I see both sides of the vaccine situation. There's one side that feels scared if they don't get the vaccine, and there's the side that feels scared if they do get the vaccine, because they're not sure if the vaccine is safe. And I understand that," she said. "So if Bobby is standing up and saying, 'Well, are we sure that they're safe and every vaccine has been tested properly?? That doesn't seem too much to ask."

While Kennedy has claimed Hines had lost jobs due to her support of his candidacy, she said that wasn't necessarily the case.

"But there was a project I'm involved in where there was a pause for discussion about how his candidacy might affect what we are doing but it has been resolved," she added, while Kennedy said he has felt "a lot of support and love from most of her friends," including Larry David.

David, who is credited with introducing them to one another and is creator of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," however, felt it necessary to clarify, over text, "Yes love and support, but I'm not 'supporting' him."

Read the full profile here.