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<\/div>Mary Richardson Kennedy died by suicide at age 52 in May 2012.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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<\/div>\nApril 7 2026, Published 3:27 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Among the many tragedies to plague the Kennedy family is the story of Mary Richardson Kennedy<\/a> \u2014 and now, haunting new details are shedding light on the turmoil that defined her final days.<\/p>\n An upcoming biography, RFK, Jr.: The Fall and Rise<\/em><\/a> by Isabel Vincent<\/strong>, pulls back the curtain on Mary\u2019s unraveling marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, exposing a deeply troubled relationship marked by addiction, alleged infidelity, emotional strain and a bitter divorce battle.<\/p>\n While the Kennedy name projected power and prestige, insiders say life behind closed doors was far from “idyllic.” Both Mary and RFK Jr. struggled with addiction<\/a> \u2014 she with alcohol, he with a past heroin dependency<\/a> \u2014 and each participated in 12-step programs. But according to sources close to Mary, her depression worsened as her husband\u2019s “philandering” intensified.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s late second wife died by suicide before their divorce was finalized.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n “He definitely gaslit her,” one source alleged in an excerpt of the book obtained by People<\/em><\/a> ahead of its April 14 release, claiming he dismissed her concerns about other women as “fantasies.” Another insider described Mary as \u201cinnocent and naive,\u201d saying she often turned to drinking while coping with emotional pain.<\/p>\n Privately, RFK Jr.’s own diary entries \u2014 which Mary had taken “for insurance,” according to the book \u2014 painted a stark picture of their fractured relationship. In the year following her death, Vincent was given access to several of those same journals by a source while covering the case for the New York Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n Despite his privileged life, RFK Jr. admitted to a restless dissatisfaction, writing that he was always searching for something he “couldn\u2019t have” to “wreck it all.” In another entry, he confessed, “Our bed is an unfriendly place.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shares four children with his late second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Friends say Mary, who shared four children with RFK Jr., was deeply committed to preserving her place within the famous family \u2014 even as the marriage deteriorated. “She was 200 percent invested in being his wife,” one source acknowledged, noting that the thought of no longer being a Kennedy was “scary” to her.<\/p>\n By May 2010, tensions reached a breaking point. On Mother\u2019s Day, RFK Jr. told Mary he planned to file for divorce \u2014 sparking a series of troubling incidents, including police visits to their Bedford, N.Y., home and Mary\u2019s arrest for driving while impaired just days later.<\/p>\n \u201cBobby used it all against her,\u201d a source alleged, claiming the incidents became ammunition in their increasingly hostile custody fight over their children, William “Finn,” <\/strong>28, Conor<\/strong><\/a>, 31, Kyra<\/strong>, 31, and Aidan<\/strong>, 24.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n MORE ON:<\/p>\n Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Want OK! each day? Sign up here!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Article continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mary Kennedy did not leave behind a suicide note that was ever made public.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Desperate to salvage the relationship, Mary reportedly attended AA meetings and pored over her husband\u2019s diaries in an attempt to understand their nearly 20-year marriage. But those close to her say the emotional toll only deepened. One source alleged RFK Jr. made cruel remarks about her appearance, while another said she felt intimidated during divorce negotiations.<\/p>\n Still, leaving wasn\u2019t an option in her mind. “It was the Kennedys or nobody,” an insider declared.<\/p>\n On May 16, 2012, Mary\u2019s struggles came to a devastating end. The 52-year-old was found dead at the family\u2019s Bedford property after dying by suicide<\/a>. She did not leave behind a note that was ever made public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his late second wife, Mary, both struggled with substance abuse issues.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n RFK Jr. \u2014 who had been searching for her that morning \u2014 made the 911 call after her body was discovered in the barn. In the aftermath, grief quickly turned to tension between the Kennedy and Richardson families, with one of Mary\u2019s sisters reportedly confronting him in anguish.<\/p>\n Though no legal action ultimately followed, those who knew the couple say the tragedy left a lasting mark.<\/p>\n “I know Bobby well enough to know that Mary\u2019s suicide<\/a> is a weight he will carry for the rest of his life,” a former friend concluded. “That\u2019s going to haunt him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRFK Jr. ‘Definitely Gaslit’ Late Second Wife Mary: Source<\/h2>\n
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<\/div>‘It Was the Kennedys or Nobody’<\/h2>\n
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<\/div>RFK Jr. Will Carry ‘Weight’ of Mary’s Suicide ‘for the Rest of His Life’<\/h2>\n
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