Ethel Kennedy and RFK Were Married for 18 Years. Here's the Story of Their Romance — and Why She Never Remarried After His Death

10/10/2024 02:19 PM

Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy got married in 1950 and welcomed 11 children together

Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy spent their 18 years of marriage fighting for human rights and raising 11 children together.

The former U.S. attorney general was assassinated in 1968, leaving Ethel a widow, pregnant with their 11th child, Rory. Ethel went on to uphold the Kennedy family legacy and endured great personal tragedy, including the deaths of multiple members of her family.

The human rights activist died on Oct. 10, 2024, at 96 years old from complications related to a stroke, her daughter, Kerry, confirmed in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

Ethel and Robert first met in 1945 while they were in college, though the politician first dated her sister, Patricia Skakel, for two years before they began going out. By 1950, the couple were married.

Related: Ethel Kennedy's 11 Children: All About the Late Kennedy Matriarch's Sons and Daughters

"We both wanted a lot of children, but there wasn't a huge discussion about it," Ethel told PEOPLE in 2012. "It wasn't a big deal. We were both from big families."

From how they met to the 11 children they welcomed together, here's everything to know about Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy's relationship.

Ethel and Robert first met when she was in college

Ethel was just 17 years old when she met her future husband, the brother of her roommate at Manhattanville College in 1945. In a 2012 interview with PEOPLE, the Kennedy matriarch shared that she knew she'd marry Robert "as soon as [I] met him" on a ski trip in Quebec.

"No maybe about it," she said.

However, she had to bide her time as the future senator dated her sister, Patricia, for two years. After their breakup, Ethel and Robert began dating and were soon engaged.

They got married in 1950

Ethel and Robert got engaged in early 1950 and got married on June 17, 1950, at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Greenwich, Conn. At the reception, all the bridesmaids were thrown into a pool and the Boston Globe lauded the ceremony as the "prettiest of the year."

The young couple honeymooned in Hawaii and soon settled in Virginia, where Robert was set to attend the University of Virginia School of Law.

By 1956, the couple and their young family moved into Hickory Hill, their iconic 13-bedroom home in McLean, Va.

Their relationship inspired a Taylor Swift song

In 2012, pop star Taylor Swift was dating Ethel's grandson, Conor Kennedy, and shared in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that her song "Starlight" was inspired by Ethel and Robert's love story.

In the song, which is written from Ethel's perspective, Swift sings, "I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of '45 / Picked me up, late one night at the window / We were seventeen and crazy, running wild, wild."

Related: Taylor Swift Wrote a Love Song Inspired by Ethel Kennedy's Romance with Robert F. Kennedy

In the bridge of the song, she continues, "Ooh, ooh, he's talking crazy / Ooh, ooh, dancing with me / Ooh, ooh, we could get married / Have ten kids and teach 'em how to dream," referencing the 11 kids the couple ultimately shared.

The inspiration for the song came from a photo Swift saw of the two dancing.

"It immediately made me think of like how much fun they must have had that night. It was back in the late '40s," she said. "I ended up reading underneath that it was Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy ... So I just kind of wrote that song from that place, not really knowing how they met or anything like that."

They welcomed 11 children together

The Kennedys' first child, Kathleen, was born on July 4, 1951, and they went on to welcome 10 more children after her: Joseph, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory.

Ethel was pregnant with Rory when Robert was assassinated, giving birth to their youngest child six months after his death. Some of the couple's children went on to follow in their father's footsteps with careers in politics, most notably Robert Jr., who dropped out of the 2024 presidential election in August 2024. Kathleen was Maryland's lieutenant governor, while Joseph served in Congress.

In her 96 years, Ethel suffered a number of personal tragedies, including the deaths of David and Michael. Following his father's death, David struggled with drug addiction, ultimately dying of an overdose in 1984 when he was 28 years old. Michael died 15 years later in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colo., at 39 years old.

When asked how she got through the pain, Ethel told PEOPLE in 2012, "I pretty well lived in the moment. And I was blessed with faith."

Ethel supported John and Robert's presidential runs

Ethel was deeply immersed in both her brother-in-law John F. Kennedy's and husband Robert's political careers. Ethel joined John on his campaign trail as he ran for president in 1960 and was by Robert's side during his rise from attorney general to senator and, ultimately, presidential hopeful.

In February 1962, Ethel joined her husband on a worldwide trip with stops in Japan, Hong Kong and Italy so that people across the globe could meet what she described as normal Americans.

"People have a distinct liking for Americans," she told the Washington Post in 1962. "It is good for Americans to travel and get our viewpoint across."

She was present the night he was assassinated

Robert was killed by Sirhan Sirhan on June 5, 1968, just after midnight in his room at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California primary in the presidential election.

Ethel was present that night and was by his side as he died in a hospital an hour later. She told PEOPLE in 2012 that it was her ardent Catholic faith that helped her keep going in the wake of the tragedy.

"I'd wake up in the morning and think he was happy in heaven and he had Jack — and they were together as they had been together on earth," she said. "I didn't think how I would survive. I knew it would happen but I didn't know how."

Though she'd been spotted in the years since with various men, Ethel vowed to never remarry or have another serious relationship out of respect to Robert's memory.

"How could I possibly do that with Bobby looking down from heaven?" she told PEOPLE in 1991. "That would be adultery."

Ethel started a foundation in his honor

To uphold his legacy, Ethel started the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (now called Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights), which awards honorable work by journalists and human rights activists.

For the five decades after her husband's death, Ethel remained active in social issues that were important to her and her husband such as the rights of migrant workers and care for the environment.

Now, her daughter Kerry runs the foundation, but up until her death, Ethel was passionate about carrying on Robert's legacy and raising their 11 children.

"She's committed to carry out the ideals that inspired my father to taking care of the family and to creating a warm and loving place," Kathleen told the Washington Post in 1981.

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