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She said she intended to kill herself unless I called off the divorce and unless I promised to recommit to the marriage. [1][2] Richardson had four sisters and two brothers. But Kennedy felt Richardson exhibited classic signs of the personality disorder that produces intense and unstable interpersonal relationships; anorexia; chronic feelings of emptiness; fear of abandonment; idealization and devaluation of herself and others; intense, inappropriate anger, most often aimed at Kennedy, he has claimed; a labile personality, capable of instantaneously switching from rage to euphoria and recurrent suicidal gestures or threats. Theyve had so much tragedy in the family that its got to be hard for them to reconcile it all, says family biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli. [5], In 1993, Richardson worked for the firm Parrish Hadley Design as an architectural designer. There was all sorts of family counseling. Every time I saw it happening, it scared me. Five minutes later, Bobby came down. She pursued me, pummeling and pushing me with her fists all the way.". Advertisement. "Daddy, I think Mary is stealing from me," Kick said, as Bobby recalled in the affidavit. The coffin containing her remains was transferred 700 feet away and reburied in an empty part of the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Centerville, Mass. Friends are divided as to whenor ifRichardson had a plan to take her life, though it is known that she asked the caretaker, three weeks earlier, to buy a rope, ostensibly for a crafts project. And the saddest part is that this beautiful woman, who was the light of her childrens lives, could not see that life was worth living just for them., Texted the news in court, Bienstock was dumbstruck. We loved Mary and the notion that this trash was put out there, for her childrens friends and teachers to read, I could no longer hold back., The debate came to a head in the library of the Kennedys Bedford estate the night that Richardson died. Mary, too, was more serious than she once had been, working as an architect on her own environmentally conscious projects. Afterward, she continued binging and purging, accompanied by regular use of alcohol and drugs, prescription and otherwise, for three years, until 1989 when, through AA, she managed to stop everything until 2005. Mary sought the help of psychiatrists and therapists. For the first time, Kennedy fell wildly, romantically in love. She promised that if I came over she would stay in her room and wouldn't see me or harass me. [4], After studying architecture at RISD, Richardson lived in SoHo, Manhattan, in the 1980s, and was active in the bohemian culture. Saoirse Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the only child of Courtney Kennedy Hill, was buried Monday afternoon next to her aunt Mary . ", "Bobby had this strange lump over his left eye," recalled one of Bobby's oldest friends, who requested that he not be named. In the summers at their Greenwich, Conn., estate, Ethel and her siblings enjoyed a game of riding up on the backseat of a convertible while the driver passed under low-hanging trees, trying to knock off the passengernot unlike the game of football on skis that Bobby's brother Michael was playing when he crashed into a tree in Aspen in 1997 and died. There was no greater witness to the chaos than the housekeeper. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Tying the perfect knot would have appealed to Marys extreme sense of order., The story of Mary Richardson Kennedy is a tale of two Marys, one told by those who lived with her, the other by those who did not, for whom she was the life of the party, says one of her closest friends, the first person on anyones list, at home in Studio 54 or a Honduran village, hugely curious, always reading books, writing diaries, keeping up with friends, organizing the next event. An autopsy revealed today, May 17, that Mary died of asphyxiation due to hanging, CNN reports. [14] Her funeral, organized by the Kennedy family, was held at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Bedford, New York. I know you have told me that her frequent suicide threats are not real. Not everyone agrees, including the Richardsons, who maintain that their sisters suicide was fueled more by angst over Kennedys womanizing than by her mental problems. In 1969, Apollo 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a mission to test the lunar module. Bobby gently asked his daughter to be more responsible. When I wrote about how difficult it is for people to acknowledge the dangers of mental illness, both here, and on my personal blog, I was swamped with comments from people who blamed her misery on her divorce and more specifically, Bobby Kennedy's supposedly abusive treatment of her. Another Richardson friend concurs. We were unaware of this, and we were not informed about it, Patricia Hennessey, the Richardson familys lawyer, told the Daily News. And yet it all seemed to work. That was when Bobby and Mary saw each other as if for the first time. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday, according to . Sep 25, 2014 - Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. and Mary Richardson on their wedding day. When she died, we lost a part of him. Touch device users, explore by touch or with . By the second half of 2010, Richardson was in free fall. Like so many other things in Mary's life, it was on the surface a splendid achievement, so much so that a book was written on the Kennedys' green house. Bobby and Mary's two oldest children, Conor and Kyra, spent the entire day in court two days after their mother's death to tell a judge that they wanted their mother's remains buried near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, where they would have an easier time visiting her. She was a straight-A student, but hardly the scholarly sort. I come from a big family and the Kennedys are a big family. Their tuxedos are made to measure, ensuring a perfect fit. Mary was a tall, svelte young woman with long brunette hair and a windblown, natural beauty that was intimidating to most men. Milford chronicle. Mary Richardson Kennedy was found hanging in the barn in the backyard of her Beford, N.Y. home on May 16. She was totally vulnerable to himand, ultimately, to herself as well. But Mary learned about the affairs, and she began telling her friends and her family. And then came an even uglier spectacle: a battle between the two families as they lined up on a field of combat that ranged from the funeral and the burial ground to the spin in the media. Horror. Mary Kennedy was the maid of honor at Kerry Kennedy's marriage to Andrew Cuomo and was her best friend, but the families have been estranged . There was something else they had in common. Just because the illness may not be outwardly visible doesnt mean the person suffering from it isnt struggling.. The estranged . I knew there wasnt going to be happy ending, the way things were going before her death, says John Hoving, but Marys suicide was a conscious decision She could no longer see the light. It also asked a judge for an order of protection to keep her from physically attacking him, showing up uninvited at his homes, denigrating him to their children and asked that Mary be required to remain sober in front of their children. Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA. With that, everything bad and dangerous escalated. May 17, 2012, 10:25 AM. Correction: John Hoving is a social worker and Kennedy friend. Bobby had never even heard of borderline personality disorder (BPD), but when he opened I Hate You, Don't Leave Me by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus, he felt he had an understanding of what was happening with his wife. She married Robert F. Kennedy Jr . Mary combined that RFK/roll-up-your-sleeves/get-the-job done ethos, with Jackies otherworldly elegance, including the breathy voice, recalls Michael Mailer, who lived with Richardson before her marriage to Kennedy. On Wednesday, May 16, Mary was nowhere to be found. While Edward Kennedy was running for president, Mary Richardson, then age 20, had raised donations of artwork from Warhol and other prominent artists in his network, including Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, and Schnabel. Leven is a former Chronicle Senior Producer at WCVB-TV, where his deceased spouse used to work. This article earlier misstated his first name and profession. President John F. Kennedy; his wife, Jackie, and his brothers Sens. Moreover, she was now living alone in a big, empty house. NEEDHAM, Mass. concert from Boston's Symphony Hall as well as the popular Pops Goes the Fourth! Mary was spending much of her time in bed, and that Sunday morning, May 13, she looked so ill that the worried housekeeper skipped church to stay with her. Until the day she died, I think that Mary loved Robert, truly believing that he was coming back., Whatever the state of Richardsons private darkness, it was invariably eclipsed by her public glow. But her greatest gift was to find humor in everything and to give us all the gift of her laughter and our own. As for Bobby, whenever a Kennedy had died during his lifetime, whether it was his brothers David and Michael or his cousin John Kennedy Jr., his lean face would turn gray with grief, but he never cried. They may think hes an asshole but dont publicly say that hes responsible for Mary killing herself. Bobby and his surrogates were trying to persuade her that she was definitely going to lose the kids, and, unfortunately, she believed them over us.(Kennedys camp denies this. For more on Saoirse Kennedy Hills young life and unexpected death, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this weeks issue, on newsstands Friday. That's the portrait that emerges from a sealed, 60-page court affidavit filed by Bobby during divorce . They offer a variety of fabrics and colors, including classic black and white, as well as navy, burgundy, and emerald green. Actor Miranda Richardson is 65. Sometimes, she felt like a single mother., Robert, surmises Bienstock, wanted to be the Disney Dad, the skiing, white-water-rafting, vacation Dad with Mary taking care of the mundane, which she did.. Id watched her grow hopeful, blossom before my eyes.. The housekeeper called Bobby and he came over to the house. In 1997, after three years of marriage, Bobby asked Mary for a divorce. On Saturday, she similarly showed up for Finns parents weekend at Vermonts Stratton Mountain School. Mary Richardson Kennedy, 52, the estranged wife of Robert F Kennedy Jr, had suffered from drug and alcohol problems for years. Mary fit in, could talk to kings or bartenders, mold herself to any situation. "Once, during dinner, Mary grabbed a plate of spaghetti and threw it all on Bobby in front of the children," says the housekeeper. Bobby went on to write in his affidavit that "a few weeks later, looking for something in Mary's bureau, I found a collection of Kick's lost items concealed beneath a layer of Mary's clothing." Explore. Between 7:30 and 8 Richardson is said to have left a phone message for the gardener that shed see him later about some weeds. Six weeks before her suicide, yoga instructor Breeckner visited Richardson in Bedford, where I found Mary, sitting alone in the dark, crying., In March, however, determined to get her children back, Richardson rallied, immersing herself in AA, attending meetings and revitalizing her yoga practice, more upbeat than she had been in months. Portraying Bobby as the alarmed family man, fleeing to protect himself and his children from their depressed, alcoholic, physically abusive, suicidal mother, the document infuriated Richardsons family, who publicly dismissed his vindictive lies, proof of the unbelievable emotional and psychological abuse that Mary endured during the last years of her life, and now in death., Equally upset, dozens of Richardsons closest confidantes have also spoken with The Daily Beast. I dont know if hell find that chemistry again, he continues. [13] An autopsy report revealed that she had antidepressants in her blood system. Mary came down the stairs and took the car and left. Bobby has previously been married to Ruth Black, the mother of his children Robert Kennedy III and Kathleen (known as Kick), from 1984 to 1994 and then Mary Richardson, between 1994 and 2012. Richardson was devastated. But this document was a litany of everything Bobby said he had suffered. "Her suicide was both a statement of hopelessness about her prospects of staying married," says Dr. Gunderson, "and it was an angry statement of her perception that she had been abandoned and betrayed. ", Bobby repeatedly pleaded with Mary's brothers and sisters to do an intervention. Afterward, finding the structure and radical honesty of 12-step meetings helpful, she became a regular at AA, just like Bobby. And she feared living without her children. "You are married to a woman who has borderline personality disorder," Hankin told him, according to Bobby's account in the affidavit. "She was the kindest person I've ever met. Bobby, who was seven years her senior, had only part of the equation. Mary Richardson Kennedy was active for years with the Boys . I appreciate you in every way.". "I saw her in the kitchen, like with her head down, and I was like, Oh, golly, she's talking on the phone and crying," says the housekeeper, who had lived with the couple throughout their entire marriage. Now the tears flowed. He was disconsolate and crying. Almost everyone, including Mary's own therapists, thought that the marriage was so damaging to both of them that it must end. ", Bobby had become far more sophisticated, with a growing reputation across America for his work with the environment. "Mary was fooling around with Bobby when he was married to Emily, but that marriage was essentially over," says one of Bobby's closest friends. The false claim that Mary suffered from BPD is also an insult to those who do struggle with this serious mental illness. Mary Kennedy felt "lost" and "alone" before her death on May 16, a neighbor told the New York Daily News. As Kennedy would report at her funeral, Richardson told him that everything was her fault and that she needed him to take care of her. Then Mary, according to someone familiar with the situation, offered a bizarre solution to the couples divorce/custody dilemma: offering that it was best for the kids, Richardson suggested that Kennedy, Hines, and she live together (harkening back to her girlhood wish of having a room in Kerrys house). Mary Kennedy: 1959-2012", "Antidepressants in RFK Jr. wife's system", "RFK Jr. rejects blame during eulogy at wife Mary Richardson Kennedy's funeral", "3rd Ceremony Held for Wife of Robert Kennedy Jr", William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Richardson_Kennedy&oldid=1133938966, Sustainable building in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 05:48. Thats hyperbolic language. Still, Richardsons sadness on Monday, says someone who spoke with her that day, was palpable. In July 2012 Mary Kennedy's body was moved from it's space next to her Shriver in-laws to a new spot near the cemetery entrance. (Four more attempts to reach him also went unanswered.) Mary Kennedy's death still puzzles friends. Bobby's friend was so angry that he charged forward to confront the Richardsons, and the Richardsons were asked to leave. That sets the stage for their search for an idealized caretaker. The Drama Desk-nominated Broadway baby will perform songs from her celebrated career so far, including beloved tunes by [] But Kennedy won in court, and she was buried near Kennedys aunt and uncle, Eunice and Sargent Shriver. Its very sweet that way. Radio personality Ira Glass is 64. . Her apparent suicide was widely seen as the latest tragedy to befall the political dynasty. He is a philanderer, an adulterer, a sex addict.' Shortly after her husband's 1968 assassination, Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Mary called all the restaurants in the district saying, "Hi, I'm Mary Richardson, and I'm helping Joe Kennedy's campaign. Walking in first, the caretaker suddenly asked, Whats that over there? and spotted Mary, in black gym clothes and sandals, suspended slightly above eye level, from an overhead beam by a rope, neatly knotted, White reported, nine times around her neck. Her face was tranquil, her hands, palms facing outward, lodged between her neck and rope, almost as if attempting to pull it away. The son of activist and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the late Mary Richardson Kennedy famously dated Taylor Swift in the summer of 2012 and the pair spent time at his storied . He wield[ed] power over her using emotional ping-pong, idealizing her one minute, putting her down, the next. Rushing over, he checked the attic before tracking down Shannon White, Richardsons AA sponsor, at an 11 a.m., Armonk AA meeting. The transfer of her body to the other end of the cemetery is the latest incident in the bitter feud between the Kennedy and Richardson families following the death of Mary. This latest piling on is proof perfect of the unbelievable emotional and psychological abuse that Mary endured during the last years of her life, and now in death. She was particularly attracted to sophisticated, dangerous men who often had among their assets titles and fortunes. For a time she would be her old wonderful self at night as well as during the day, and Bobby had renewed hope, the affidavit said. Mary Richardson Kennedy's life had both highlights and troubled moments, just like other members of the famous political family she married into in 1994. In fact, the surprise is not that she died so young, but that she willed herself to stay alive so long. The pair felt challenges in their marriage soon after exchanging vows. There was no way that this woman was not very, very sick.. . One week it was the plane ticket. And I loved Mary. Back at the house, while Kennedy scoured the woods, White and the caretaker headed toward the barn, which had already been checked twice. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Her death followed two difficult years during which she battled drug and alcohol addiction, her husband filed for divorce, and she was charged twice with driving while intoxicated. Mary Kennedy is shown at The Plaza Hotel in New York City in this December 2002 file photo. Bobby had what his brother Doug called the Kennedy "St. Francis complex," always trying to do good and help people, and he reached out to Mary as if reaching out to a version of himself. A fearless adventurer, she inspired curiosity and daring in her friends. Today. Hines has a 16-year-old daughter, Catherine Rose, from her . RFK's granddaughter, Saoirse (daughter of Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill and Paul Michael Hill), died from an accidental overdose after being found at her family's Cape Cod home. In this 2008 photo provided by Peter Michaelis, Mary Richardson Kennedy poses for a photo outside her Bedford, N.Y. home. What was left went largely to his widow, the remaining amount divided among the 11 children. Kerry Kennedy, at boarding school and was a maid of honor at her wedding . In April 1994, Bobby, 40, married six-months' pregnant Mary, 34, on the deck of the Riverkeeper's research boat, the Shannon. (Grant Delin/Corbis Outline) My Dictionary of Symbols (Paladin, 1982) advised me only that butterflies signify transformation, which is apt for a book set during India's 1947 Partition, but not quite adequate to explain the title. He is the most evil kind of man in the world. I see his sadness, that he misses her, the connection that they once had. "But then I get close to her, and she was passed out. She was glowing and he was repeatedly saying how much he loved her and how glad he was they had gotten together.". May 18, 2012 - Mary Richardson Kennedy was deep in credit-card debt and getting . Mary, 52, who battled drug and alcohol addiction and was . The autopsy revealed that there were at least three antidepressants in her blood when she died. Despite his tragic flaw, Kennedy still found love in his first wife, Emily Black, whom he wed on April 3, 1982, at Bloomington's First Christian Church. [1] She was involved in the renovation of the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, the official residence of the Vice President of the United States. Though their marriage seemed to be ending, Bobby wanted to give his wife a purpose and their relationship a final chance, so he agreed to let her redo the house. May 18, 2012 - Mary Richardson Kennedy was deep in credit-card debt and getting . "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actress Cheryl Hines and was recently photographed with her for the first time since Mary's death at a Kennedy wedding on Cape Cod. In 2003 a great storm had fallen on Bedford and left standing water in the home, spawning black mold and rendering the large 1920 structure largely uninhabitable. And he was leading her on. Members of Mary Richardson Kennedy's family carry her casket into church for a funeral for the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at St. Patrick's Church in Bedford, N.Y., May 19, 2012 . Sometimes in the middle of the night, Bobby would awake to find Mary standing over his bed, beating him, according to the affidavit. Dressed always elegantly in black as she danced through the nightlife of the city, she intimidated most men. And then he returned to trying to forget in a series of short-lived affairs. It wasn't only that she was gorgeous, but that she had an intellect to match, a nearly photographic memory, and a promising career as an architectural designer. (Philandering isnt a sufficient word, sniffs Bienstock. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The last time anyone saw Mary Kennedy alive was a year ago Wednesday. It was having her kids taken away., The system is Kafka-esque, declares Kerry.