It was 1990. The St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington was packed with the kind of political horsepower that usually requires a security detail for every pew. When Kerry Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo walked down that aisle, the press had already coined the term: "Cuomolot."
It was a merger. Pure and simple. You had the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the son of Mario Cuomo. Two dynasties. One altar.
But honestly, the "happily ever after" part was a struggle from the jump. People look back now and see the wreckage of the 2005 divorce, but if you look closer, the friction was baked into the foundation. It wasn't just a marriage; it was a collision of two very different ways of being powerful.
The Homeless Shelter First Date
Most people take a date to a movie or a nice Italian spot. Not Andrew. Their first date was literally a tour of a homeless shelter.
Kerry actually loved that. She saw a shared mission. She was a human rights activist who’d been on the front lines since she was a kid. He was the driven, intense son of a governor who lived and breathed policy. They were both workaholics. They were both Catholic. On paper, it was perfect.
In reality? The Kennedy clan and the Cuomo clan were like oil and water. The Kennedys are known for their sprawling, chaotic, touch-football-on-the-lawn energy. The Cuomos? More disciplined. More top-down.
Why Kerry Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo Couldn't Make it Work
By the late 90s, things were getting heavy. Andrew was serving as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Clinton. Kerry was raising their three daughters—Cara, Mariah, and Michaela.
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Tension is a quiet killer.
The Kennedy family reportedly felt Andrew was a bit too "controlling." There was a famous incident in 1997 after the death of Kerry’s brother, Michael Kennedy. Andrew did some on-air interviews that the Kennedys felt were self-serving. It rubbed them the wrong way.
Then came 2002. Andrew ran for Governor of New York. It was a disaster. He ended up dropping out before the primary.
Political failure is hard on a marriage built on political success. Kerry had worked tirelessly on that campaign, but the loss seemed to be the final straw. Shortly after, she asked for a divorce.
The Messy Breakup
If you think your breakup was bad, imagine it being on the front page of the New York Post.
The divorce was anything but "amicable" at first. There were allegations of an affair between Kerry and a family friend. Andrew’s lawyer at the time, Harriet Newman Cohen, didn't hold back, saying her client was "betrayed."
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It was ugly. It was public. It was the opposite of the "Cuomolot" dream.
Where Are They Now in 2026?
A lot has changed since that 2005 split.
Andrew Cuomo went on to become Governor, had a massive rise during the pandemic, and then a spectacular fall in 2021 amid harassment allegations. Most recently, he tried to stage a comeback in the 2025 NYC Mayoral race, but he lost in the primary to Zohran Mamdani.
Kerry Kennedy has stayed the course. She’s still the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. She’s authored books. She’s weathered her own storms, including a scary 2012 DUI trial where she was eventually acquitted.
The most interesting part? They seem to have found a weird sort of peace.
In 2019, they were seen together when Andrew signed the Farm Workers Bill—something Kerry had fought for for years. He even gave her a shout-out. They’ve both stayed single (Andrew’s long-term relationship with Sandra Lee ended in 2019).
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The Daughters: The Real Legacy
Whatever you think of the parents, their three daughters are doing their own thing.
- Cara Kennedy-Cuomo: She’s been involved in social justice work and even worked with her mother’s foundation.
- Mariah Kennedy-Cuomo: She’s worked in the corporate world but keeps a foot in the family’s advocacy roots.
- Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo: She’s been very vocal about mental health and LGBTQ+ rights, often using her platform to push for progressive change.
They seem close to both parents. You'll see them on Kerry’s Instagram during family hikes and then appearing in Andrew’s political spheres. They are the bridge.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think this was just a "political arrangement." That’s too cynical.
They really were in love at the start. You don't have three kids and stay married for 15 years just for a press release. But the pressure of being a "Power Couple" is a different kind of beast. When your personal life is a metric for your political viability, things break.
The takeaway here isn't about scandal. It’s about the reality of two people trying to live up to names—Kennedy and Cuomo—that are bigger than they are.
Actionable Insights for the Curious:
- Read the Vanity Fair Archive: If you want the gritty details of the 2003 split, their piece "Nightmare in Camelot" is the definitive deep-dive of that era.
- Follow the Work: Kerry Kennedy’s work at RFK Human Rights is actually very substantive. If you care about international law, that’s where to look.
- Check the 2026 Landscape: Keep an eye on Andrew Cuomo's next moves. Even after the mayoral loss, he still has a massive war chest of campaign funds. He isn't "gone" from the public eye yet.