Cheryl Hines ‘in shock and distress’ as RFK Jr blindsided by tell-all from journalist linked to ‘digital affair’

Cheryl Hines was reportedly left in ‘shock and distress’ as her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr was blindsided by the revelation Olivia Nuzzi was releasing a tell-all memoir about her alleged ‘digital affair’ with the Kennedy scion.

The former New York Magazine reporter’s memoir, entitled ‘American Canto,’ will delve into her relationship with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and is set to include juicy text messages the Kennedy heir sent her as she was writing a feature on his presidential campaign. 

Kennedy, 71, and his representatives have denied any inappropriate relationship – claiming he met Nuzzi only once during an interview

But those with knowledge of the forthcoming book have previously said RFK Jr. is going to have a difficult time ‘surviving this with his marriage and job intact’ once the book is released in December.

They have now claimed the power couple ‘fear the revelations’ that may be coming in the memoir.

‘Bobby and Cheryl initially went through marital hell last year when the affair was first revealed,’ an insider told the New York Post.  

‘She even considered divorce for a time, but they’ve since reconciled and have been relieved that the scandal had seemingly blown over.

‘Cheryl eventually and emphatically believed, without reservation, Bobby’s denial’ that he had an intimate relationship with Nuzzi.  

She even rejected Kennedy’s proposal that they pretend to be separated once the affair became public last year, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star told Fox News Digital on Monday. 

The 60-year-old Emmy-award winning actress called the proposal ‘a very sweet notion but… I didn’t think that was helpful.’

‘For a couple to say, ”Maybe we should just say we’re not with each other anymore and our lives would be easier”… That’s pretty dramatic and pretty extreme,’ she said. 

But she insisted that the offer came from a place of concern, and ultimately brought them closer together.

‘You’re in these unique situations that nobody else can imagine,’ she said.

Hines then continued to appear with her husband publicly at major events, but reportedly declined to live in a Georgetown home the couple purchased, citing discomfort with the political spotlight. 

When she was then asked about the rumors over the affair, Hines said she was not concerned.

Meanwhile, for Nuzzi, the allegations of an affair led her to lose her job as the Washington correspondent for New York Magazine – despite the outlet saying it found ‘no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias’ in her reporting on the then-presidential candidate.

Her engagement to fellow journalist Ryan Lizza also ended after the allegations came to light.

In court documents obtained by the Post, Lizza claimed that Kennedy wanted to ‘possess,’ ‘control’ and ‘impregnate’ his then-fiancee.

He also alleged that Nuzzi had privately described Kennedy as a ‘sex addict’ and that their affair was ‘toxic, unhealthy, stupid, psychotic, crazy [and] indefensible.’

Lizza even claimed Kennedy used his ‘huge power’ to manipulate Nuzzi, who in turn has accused Lizza of threats and blackmails – though she later withdrew the claims.

Her new book is now set to delve into her relationship with Lizza, and will cover her decade covering President Donald Trump.

It will even include information she pulled from hours of recorded interviews between the president and herself. 

Sources have claimed that the information released in the memoir may be devastating for the Trump administration, and claim there is concern for Nuzzi’s safety as well as fear there could be an injunction or that the Trump White House could try to block the publication.

Simon & Schuster has even reportedly hired crisis PR expert Risa Heller, who previously worked with disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner, as well as Jared Kushner and Jeff Zucker, to handle the rollout of the book – which comes as Hines releases her own book, ‘Unscripted.’

Sources have said executives at Simon & Schuster have tried to keep Nuzzi’s own memoir under wrap to avoid overlapping with Hines’s book release, with no preliminary copies of the tome available for internal review.

The book is even being kept on an entirely separate server to keep it secret, they claimed. 

An apparent Amazon listing for Nuzzi’s memoir also has no image, no author and is listed as ‘To Be Announced AC.’

It does, however, list a publication date of December 2, and provides users with the opportunity to pre-order the book – for $30 for a hardcover or $15 for an ebook.

Daily Mail has reached out to a representative for Hines and the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.