When people go looking for what happened to Robert Kennedy's first wife, they’re usually standing at a bit of a historical crossroads. You see, the name "Robert Kennedy" carries a lot of weight, but it actually belongs to two very different men in the American consciousness: the 1960s icon who was assassinated, and his son, the modern political firebrand.
Honestly, the answer depends entirely on which Bobby you’re talking about. If you’re thinking of the Senator, his wife Ethel was the rock of the family for nearly sixty years after his death. But if you’re looking into the more recent, darker headlines surrounding Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the story of his first wife—and the tragic end of his second—is a lot messier than the history books usually like to admit.
The Matriarch: Ethel Skakel Kennedy
For most of the world, "RFK's wife" is Ethel Skakel Kennedy. She was the woman in the polka-dot dress, pregnant with their eleventh child, kneeling over her husband on the floor of the Ambassador Hotel kitchen in 1968.
Ethel didn't just fade away after that night. She lived to the ripe old age of 96, eventually passing away on October 10, 2024. She was basically the definition of "Kennedy tough." After Bobby was killed, she raised all eleven of those kids alone at their Hickory Hill estate. She never remarried, which is kinda wild when you think about the decades of life she had left. She told people she just couldn't imagine anyone measuring up to Bobby.
She spent her life running the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and while she was a bit of a polarizing figure—known for being both fiercely competitive and occasionally difficult with staff—she was the undisputed glue of the dynasty.
👉 See also: Jaden Newman Leaked OnlyFans: What Most People Get Wrong
The Confusion: RFK Jr.’s Wives
This is where the Google searches usually get tangled. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (the son) has been married three times. Because he’s been in the news so much recently—running for president in 2024 and then joining the Trump administration—people are digging into his past.
Emily Black: The First Wife
If we’re being literal about "Robert Kennedy's first wife" regarding the son, we’re talking about Emily Black. They met at the University of Virginia School of Law and got hitched in 1982.
They had two kids together, Robert F. Kennedy III and Bobby’s first daughter, Kathleen. Emily was there during some of Bobby Jr.’s roughest years, including his 1983 arrest for heroin possession. They eventually divorced in 1994, but it was relatively quiet compared to what came next. Emily mostly stayed out of the spotlight after the split.
Mary Richardson: The Tragedy Nobody Talks About
Most people asking "what happened to Robert Kennedy's first wife" are actually looking for Mary Richardson Kennedy. Technically, she was his second wife, but because their marriage lasted 16 years and ended in such a public, horrific way, she’s the one who haunts the family history.
✨ Don't miss: The Fifth Wheel Kim Kardashian: What Really Happened with the Netflix Comedy
Mary was a talented architect and a long-time friend of the family—she was actually Kerry Kennedy’s (Bobby’s sister) best friend and roommate in college. She and Bobby Jr. married in 1994, just weeks after his divorce from Emily was finalized.
The end of their marriage was a slow-motion car crash. Bobby Jr. filed for divorce in 2010, and shortly after, Mary was arrested for a DUI. Things got ugly. There were reports of a "diary" where Bobby allegedly kept track of her struggles, and the legal battle was brutal.
In May 2012, Mary was found dead by suicide in the barn of her Bedford, New York, estate. She was only 52.
The aftermath was just as painful. The Kennedy and Richardson families literally fought in court over where to bury her body. Bobby Jr. eventually won, but then he did something that still leaves a bad taste in people's mouths: he had her body exhumed and moved 700 feet away from the original plot to a more secluded area of the cemetery. He claimed the original spot was getting "too crowded," but the optics were just terrible.
🔗 Read more: Erik Menendez Height: What Most People Get Wrong
Why it Still Matters Today
You can't really understand the current Kennedy family dynamics without knowing these stories.
- The Legacy: Ethel’s death in 2024 marked the end of the "Camelot" era.
- The Controversy: The treatment of Mary Richardson is still a major talking point for critics of RFK Jr.
- The Resilience: Despite the "Kennedy Curse" talk, the family remains a massive force in US politics.
If you’re trying to keep the family tree straight, just remember: Ethel was the widow of the father, Emily was the first wife of the son, and Mary was the tragic second wife whose story is often confused with the others.
If you want to dive deeper into the family's recent history, you should look into the 2012 documentary Ethel, filmed by her daughter Rory. It’s probably the most honest look you’ll get at the woman who started it all. Or, for a more critical view, Maureen Callahan’s book Ask Not goes into the darker side of how the Kennedy men treated the women in their lives, specifically focusing on Mary Richardson's final days.