Tig Notaro Stepped Away From Cheryl Hines Friendship Over RFK Jr.

Comedian Tig Notaro is sharing insight into what caused the end of her friendship with Cheryl Hines.

“Cheryl was one of my favorite friends to be ridiculous with,” Notaro, 54, said on the Tuesday, October 14, episode of the “Breaking Bread With Tom Papa” podcast. “And we made each other laugh so hard.”

Notaro and Hines, 60, previously hosted their own podcast titled “Tig & Cheryl: True Story,” where they featured different celebrities talking about documentaries. “It was fun to have to watch a documentary every week, but also we took the pressure off, because we would ask each other things like, ‘Who are you attracted to in this documentary?’” Notaro recalled.

Eventually, however, the pair’s friendship hit a snag. “Cheryl’s married to Bobby Kennedy Jr. When he was announcing his run, I just felt like I needed to step away,” Notaro explained, “because there are beliefs that were like a gnat on the arm years ago that were getting further into the spotlight.”

Related: Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Relationship Timeline

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are not the likeliest pair. Thrust into the spotlight amid Kennedy’s 2024 bid for the presidency, the couple has done their best to keep their personal life out of the public eye. While Americans speculate about how their seemingly different world views mesh, Curb Your […]

Kennedy, now the acting Secretary of Health and Human Services for President Donald Trump‘s administration and has sparked controversy over his anti-vaccine opinions, announced his plans to run for office as an independent candidate in April 2023.

“My friendship with Cheryl predated her marriage to Bobby,” Notaro said of the couple, who tied the knot in 2014. “He was in environmental law. And again, other beliefs he had were like a gnat on my arm. But then it started to grow, and Cheryl wanted me to hear Bobby out. … And then he endorsed Trump, and then it just got hard.”

Kennedy, 71, dropped out of the race for president last summer and put his support behind Trump, 79, who was eventually elected for his second term in the White House.

When host Tom Papa told Notaro that he misses her podcast with Hines, Notaro agreed.

“It’s really sad, because it did bring me so much joy,” the Emmy nominee continued. “And Cheryl did bring me so much joy. But that’s what I’m looking for, is I want to get back to prioritizing people that bring me joy and workloads that bring me joy.”

Notaro also noted that she’s skeptical about couples who say they share different views. “When somebody is like, ‘Oh, we don’t agree on everything’ within a marriage, that is so vague,” she said, joking that the biggest disagreement she has with wife Stephanie Allynne is about what temperature to set the thermostat when they sleep at night.

Related: Cheryl Hines Breaks Silence on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Alleged Affair

Cheryl Hines is ready to set the record straight about her marriage to current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  “I don’t think there’s any point to going through every rumor and headline to try to defend or explain it,” Hines, 59, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview […]

As Notaro reflected on the duo’s former friendship, Hines vehemently defended her husband during an appearance on The View on Tuesday. The Curb Your Enthusiasm actress noted that Kennedy’s decision to support Trump was “complicated” but also said the men realized they “have a lot of common goals.”

“For Bobby to, in the course of a year and a half, two years, go from a Democrat to now working with President Trump — that’s a leap,” Hines admitted. “But also it’s a leap of faith.”

When Whoopi Goldberg questioned Kennedy’s qualifications as HHS secretary, pointing out that “he’s not a doctor and he’s not a professional,” Hines praised his successes as an environmental lawyer.

“Why is he less qualified than an economist?” Hines clapped back at The View‘s Sonny Hostin, who said Kennedy has “spread a lot of misinformation” throughout his political journey.