Washington: Robert F Kennedy Jr’s wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, was “depressed and despondent” before she committed suicide, a friend of the former architect has revealed.
The longtime friend, who spoke to Mary on Monday, insists that they were sadly not surprised by reports that the 52-year-old had taken her own life, as she was facing financial woes and the end of her marriage.
Mary was discovered dead at her Mount Kisco, New York home on Wednesday.
She had hanged herself in a barn.
“I spoke to Mary on Monday and she sounded extremely down,” RadarOnline.com quoted a source as saying.
“She was very depressed and despondent and worried about the future.”
“Mary said she was facing financial ruin, with American Express coming after her hard for an outstanding debt, along with several other creditors. In addition, she was concerned that Robert was about to substantially reduce the amount of financial support he gave her and she was terrified she would have to file for bankruptcy and lose her home,” the source said.
Mary was married to Kennedy for 16 years, before he filed for divorce in May 2010. The couple had four children together.
Mary lived at the family home in Mount Kisco, while Robert spent the major portion of his time in Los Angeles.
“Robert still supported Mary and was there for her whenever he could be, but he had pretty much moved on,” a source close to the radio host had previously said.
“He has been dating Cheryl Hines for a while now and they are very happy together,” the source had said.
The initial source insists that Mary was struggling to come to terms with the end of their marriage, despite Robert having filed for divorce two years earlier, and that the couple was heading to trial.
“It was very tough for Mary to deal with Robert dating someone else,” the source said.
“And it really didn’t help that the new woman is a celebrity. She would see photos of the two of them together and it would drive her nuts. I think, deep down, she had still harboured a belief they would get back together but it had recently become blindingly clear that wasn’t to be,” the source said.
“Mary was in a very dark place recently,” the second source had said previously.
“Robert tried to help her all he could but it was difficult for him to be around her. Robert is committed to his sobriety but Mary had chosen a whole different path to take,” the second source said.
Mary was charged for driving under the influence in May 2010 by the Bedford, New York police after she failed a number of sobriety tests and her blood alcohol level registered at 0.11.
The incident occurred just three days after Robert filed for divorce.
“Mary has struggled with alcoholism throughout her life,” her friend said.
“She had been hitting the bottle again pretty heavily recently. When I heard the news that she may have taken her own life I was devastated, but not that surprised. It was in the back of my mind that she may do something like this, and that was compounded by the conversation I had with her on Monday.”
“However she died though, this is an absolute tragedy. Mary was an amazing and beautiful person and she absolutely adored her children. It is a devastating loss to all that knew her,” the friend said.
“We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her,” a Kennedy family representative said.
“Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation. We have no further comment at this time,” the representative added.
ANI
