RFK Jr.'s Late Second Wife Mary's Haunting Final Days Exposed as Marriage Was Doomed by Addiction, Cheating, Secret Diaries and Suicide

Among the many tragedies to plague the Kennedy family is the story of Mary Richardson Kennedy — and now, haunting new details are shedding light on the turmoil that defined her final days.

An upcoming biography, RFK, Jr.: The Fall and Rise by Isabel Vincent, pulls back the curtain on Mary’s unraveling marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., exposing a deeply troubled relationship marked by addiction, alleged infidelity, emotional strain and a bitter divorce battle.

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 — she with alcohol, he with a past heroin dependency — and each participated in 12-step programs. But according to sources close to Mary, her depression worsened as her husband’s "philandering" intensified.

"He definitely gaslit her," one source alleged in an excerpt of the book obtained by People ahead of its April 14 release, claiming he dismissed her concerns about other women as "fantasies." Another insider described Mary as “innocent and naive,” saying she often turned to drinking while coping with emotional pain.

Privately, RFK Jr.'s own diary entries — which Mary had taken "for insurance," according to the book — 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.

Despite his privileged life, RFK Jr. admitted to a restless dissatisfaction, writing that he was always searching for something he "couldn’t have" to "wreck it all." In another entry, he confessed, "Our bed is an unfriendly place."

Friends say Mary, who shared four children with RFK Jr., was deeply committed to preserving her place within the famous family — 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.

By May 2010, tensions reached a breaking point. On Mother’s Day, RFK Jr. told Mary he planned to file for divorce — sparking a series of troubling incidents, including police visits to their Bedford, N.Y., home and Mary’s arrest for driving while impaired just days later.

“Bobby used it all against her,” a source alleged, claiming the incidents became ammunition in their increasingly hostile custody fight over their children, William "Finn," 28, Conor, 31, Kyra, 31, and Aidan, 24.

Desperate to salvage the relationship, Mary reportedly attended AA meetings and pored over her husband’s 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.

Still, leaving wasn’t an option in her mind. "It was the Kennedys or nobody," an insider declared.

On May 16, 2012, Mary’s struggles came to a devastating end. The 52-year-old was found dead at the family’s Bedford property after dying by suicide. She did not leave behind a note that was ever made public.

RFK Jr. — who had been searching for her that morning — 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’s sisters reportedly confronting him in anguish.

Though no legal action ultimately followed, those who knew the couple say the tragedy left a lasting mark.

"I know Bobby well enough to know that Mary’s suicide is a weight he will carry for the rest of his life," a former friend concluded. "That’s going to haunt him."