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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was absent from his niece Grace Kennedy Allen’s pre-wedding festivities amid his alleged “personal relationship” with New York magazine campaign reporter Olivia Nuzzi.
The extended Kennedy family gathered in Hyannis Port on Saturday, Sept. 21, ahead of Grace’s Massachusetts wedding. Page Six obtained photos of the family swimming in the Hyannis Harbor and then trying to dry off during a rainstorm. Whether Bobby, 70, who lives in Malibu, will be present for the wedding of the late senator Ted Kennedy’s granddaughter remains unclear.
Sept. 21 also marked the 59th birthday of Bobby’s wife, Cheryl Hines, who was spotted on Sept. 20 without her wedding ring — and without Bobby.
The former presidential candidate’s absence comes two days after Nuzzi, 31, was put on leave from New York magazine after she told the publication’s editors that she “engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign.” This was “a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures,” as per New York’s statement released on Thursday, Sept. 19.
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The publication noted that “had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Nuzzi explained: “Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal. During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source.”
Nuzzi didn’t name the subject, but CNN identified him as Bobby.
“The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict,” she continued. “I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
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A representative for Bobby said in a statement shared with The Washington Post that he and Nuzzi only met “once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.” The article — titled “The Mind-Bending Politics of RFK Jr.’s Spoiler Campaign” — ran in New York magazine in November 2023.
Bobby ran for president in the 2024 race, dropped out in August and subsequently endorsed Donald Trump.
Hines, meanwhile, had been in “good spirits” at an Emmy Awards party days before news broke of her husband’s alleged relationship, a source told PEOPLE.
“She was in good spirits sitting with Jeff Garlin at the Curb Your Enthusiasm table,” the insider said of the Sept. 15 awards show.
The actress also spent her birthday in Milan on Sept. 21 with her daughter Catherine Young to support Bobby’s daughter Kyra, a model walking in Gucci’s Milan Fashion Week show.
