TONY DOKOUPIL:
00:00:13
That, of course, is Cheryl Hines costarring with Larry David in the hit HBO series Curb YourEnthusiasm. These days, though, Hines may be more famous for an offscreen role as the spouse of one of the most prominent and controversial members of President Trump's cabinet. Talking about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In her new memoir-- it's called Unscripted-- Hines describes her wild ride to the world of Washington politics. And first on CBSMornings,she met Natalie Morales for a walk around her new neighborhood in Washington, DC.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:00:46
In DC these days, Cheryl Hines may be cast in her toughest role yet. I don't think I'll ever get used to-- Being a political spouse? Yes, a political spouse, a cabinet spouse.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:00:58
But she is getting used to Washington, where Hines moved earlier this year when her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., joined the Trump cabinet. It's unbelievable.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:01:08
It was Larry David, her costar on the hit Curb YourEnthusiasm-- Were we a hit? We were a hit.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:01:14
--who introduced Hines to Kennedy. The pair wed in 2014. When you said "I do" 11 years ago, you weren't saying "I do" to this life? I really wasn't. [LAUGHS]
NATALIE MORALES:
00:01:27
We met at Martin's Tavern in Washington, a favorite of the Kennedy family. It is a big family. With a lot of drama. [LAUGHTER] Yeah. Ooh, a lot of drama. The next president of the United--
NATALIE MORALES:
00:01:39
In 2023, Hines helped her husband, Bobby, join the family business. From the moment he announced he was running, I knew our lives would never be the same. I found it stressful that Bobby didn't get Secret Service protection. Because you were concerned about his safety? Concerned about his safety. I think every day somebody would say to me, are you worried about him getting shot like his father and his uncle? And I was. I was very worried about it. I'm still worried about it. I don't think Bobby tells me all of the threats that he gets, if I'm being honest.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:02:14
Threats that increased as Kennedy emerged as a prominent critic of COVID vaccines. Hines acknowledges that took a toll on her and their relationship, as she was sometimes caught in the middle. I'm definitely the one that has all the feelings, and he's the one that wants to talk about the facts and the studies. And so sometimes we really have a hard time communicating. Do you let him know your opinions, though? Oh, I do. I do. Bobby and I, we're able to disagree on things. I mean, sometimes we have heated discussions, but we always come back around to, I hear what you're saying. It seemed like, for years, you distanced yourself from the vaccine controversy. But in the book, you do write that you can see both sides of the issue. Where do you stand? I do see both sides of the issue. I see-- Are some safer than others, do you feel? Well, I'm not a doctor. And neither is your husband. No, and the majority of secretaries of HHS have not been doctors. I understand how people feel like we have to do it. Do not question it. If that's what's coming down from the government, let's trust that. I understand that, and then I also understand the mothers, the parents who talk to me personally and say, I feel like there's a problem. My child was different after they got vaccinated. Let's listen to people. Let's listen to parents. Let's listen to doctors, to science.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:04:02
But Kennedy has clashed with some doctors and scientists who work for him and even some in his family. Caroline Kennedy was very vocal about Bobby calling his views on vaccines dangerous and disqualifying. Was that hard for you to see the family rift? It was hard. I found it to be hard. Harder on you than it was on him? It seemed like it at times. You say you were disappointed and angry, but you also felt sorry for them for choosing politics over family. I always thought the Kennedy family, I thought one of their virtues was that family came first, and I admired that. So when some of his family decided to-- there's no other way to say it than attack him publicly. It was disappointing.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:04:56
So Hines relies on humor to help in this new role. I find little moments that are funny. Is this sort of another acting role, in some way? In some ways, it is. Life imitating art? Yes I'll just act like I know what I'm doing until someone says, don't curtsy. [LAUGHTER] Curtsy is not needed in this moment. Oh, OK. Sorry. Well, Hines is hardly acting here, though. She says the improv skills that she honed with LA's Groundlings sketch comedy group and then later with Larry David on Curb YourEnthusiasmhave prepared her well for this whole new stage in her life. Hines told us that she has made friends in Washington, including with some cabinet secretaries and their spouses, but she admits this whole new stage in her life has been quite an adjustment, Tony. Thank you, Natalie. You can see more of Natalie's conversation with Cheryl Hines in our next hour on CBS MorningsPlus, and the extended interview is on YouTube. Unscripted,the m, is available now for preorder. Hits bookstores on November 11. Now, you've probably heard of the actor Cheryl Hines. You remember her from the hit HBO series Curb YourEnthusiasm. She played Larry, David's wife. Off camera, he introduced Hines to her real-life husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is the country's top public health official, as you know, and one of the most prominent and controversial members of President Trump's cabinet. So his wife is now out with a new, revealing memoir called Unscripted. Natalie Morales met her near her new home in Washington, and here are some of their conversation. Once you start applying some of the rules from improv to life, I don't know what's going to happen next, and maybe I'm glad. [LAUGHS] It seems like that's helped you, though. It's helped me.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:06:43
Cheryl Hines is navigating a new role-- Congratulations, Mr. Secretary.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:06:48
--as the spouse of President Trump's secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and a new life in Washington. I like DC.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:06:59
Though it may have come at a cost back home in Hollywood. Have you lost friends, though, people that you thought were friends? I have a few friends. When Bobby stepped into the political arena, it became too difficult emotionally for them to stay close. Just a few friends, and I understand it.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:07:23
And while she counts her Curb YourEnthusiasm costar, Larry David, as a friend, Hines acknowledges politics can get in the way. What did Larry David think about Bobby becoming a member of the Trump cabinet? -- Well, Did you get some-- That will-- --interesting phone calls? That will be a question for Larry, but let's be honest. He can't love it.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:07:48
In Unscripted,Hines writes when Kennedy sparked controversy for his opposition to COVID vaccines, he suggested the couple fake a separation to save her scrutiny. Was that even a consideration at the time? No. I didn't understand how that was going to help. I did not, but I understood what he was talking about. I appreciated it.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:08:12
But their blended families, her daughter, Cat, and his six children from two previous marriages, provided support, even through a very public feud with Kennedy's family. When some of his own siblings opposed his presidential platform, Hines says that surprised even his mother, Ethel Kennedy. Bobby told her that he was running for president, and she told him she was proud of him and then asked who of the siblings are working on your campaign. And he said that they're not working on it, and some are opposing him, and she was very surprised.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:08:50
But what frightens her most, she says, is seeing how dangerous the political climate has become. Hines and Kennedy attended the memorial service for Charlie Kirk after his assassination. What do you think needs to be done to lower the political temperature, this boiling point that we're at right now? I think everyone needs to take a step back, listen to each other, and find that place where it is OK to disagree with somebody. It's good to surround yourself with people who don't think exactly like you. But instead of hating somebody for that, maybe taking a minute to understand why they think like that.
NATALIE MORALES:
00:09:38
And that's helped even in her own marriage. You've gone through challenging times. Where are you now as a couple? We are really close. I like spending time with him. I love him. I love our family and our kids. And it's not always going to be easy, but we also know not everybody is like what you're saying, what you're doing, and that's OK too. Just it's OK. That's life. And Hines's memoir, Unscripted, delves deeply into her life and her 11-year marriage with Kennedy, but she also tells her fascinating life story. She comes from a modest family in Florida. She talks about her struggles to make it here in Hollywood until then, of course, getting her big break in her mid-30s on Curb YourEnthusiasm. So it's quite a story, and it's a good read, Tony and Adriana. Well, this is a really great interview. The two parts of it have been fantastic, and I know the whole thing will be on YouTube as well. Natalie, thank you very much. And, again, for our viewers, you can see that full interview with Cheryl Hines on our CBSMorningsYouTube page. The book, Unscripted, by Cheryl Hines is available now for preorder. It hits bookstores on November 11.
