The Secretary of Health and Human Services made several revelations about his late cousin in his diaries, according to “RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise.”

RFK Jr. says JFK Jr. confided in him about fighting with Caroline over Jackie’s estate: ‘It’s like a divorce’

The Secretary of Health and Human Services made several revelations about his late cousin in his diaries, according to "RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise."

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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April 15, 2026 7:00 a.m. ET

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; John F. Kennedy Jr. Credit:

Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty; Barry King/WireImage

- In the new biography *RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise*, which pulls from diaries, Robert F. Kennedy recalled his cousin JFK Jr. confiding in him following the death of Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

- The Secretary of Health and Human Services said JFK Jr. was "hurt" after fighting with sister Caroline over their mother's estate.

- RFK Jr. also wrote about his cousin being "so depressed" and wanting to spend time with him the weekend JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and Lauren Bessette died in a plane crash.**

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had an apparently close relationship with his cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr.

In *RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise* by Isabel Vincent, the investigative reporter delves into the diaries of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. At one point, RFK Jr. reflects on JFK Jr. confiding in him following the death of his mother, Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Jackie died at 64 in 1994 from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She left all of her assets to her two children, JFK Jr. and Caroline Kennedy.

RFK Jr. wrote on July 15, 1999, that it had been a "difficult year for our family" and that everyone was "feeling so stressed and angry."**

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Bettmann Archive/Getty

Despite five years passing since Jackie's death, John Jr. and his sister were still fighting over the estate left by the former First Lady — namely, the Red Gate Farm furniture. JFK Jr. purchased Caroline's half of the Martha's Vineyard estate, which spanned over 300 acres and more than 1 mile of beachfront property.

“John confided in me how hurt he was by Caroline’s actions,” RFK Jr. wrote in his diary. “It’s like a divorce.”

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Elsewhere in his memoir, RFK Jr. wrote about how he and his wife at the time, Mary Richardson Kennedy, planned to spend time with JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, while in Hyannis Port during Rory Kennedy's wedding weekend. "Mary and I resolved we will go see them this weekend and spend a lot of time with them," he wrote in his diaries.

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He also claimed that Mary said that Carolyn told her that JFK Jr. was "so depressed." JFK Jr., Carolyn, and her sister Lauren Bessette intended to arrive at Cape Cod for Rory's wedding by way of Martha's Vineyard, but all three tragically died in a plane crash.

When RFK Jr. got a call about John's plane missing in the early morning hours of July 17, he writes that he "knew then that John was dead," per Vincent's book. "I looked out the window of Carolyn's house from which I could see the lights on in John’s front porch and I felt empty, sad."****

'RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise' by Isabel Vincent.

*RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise *is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

- Biography Books

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Biography”