Jackie Kennedy’s Brother-in-Law Was ‘Protective’ of Her After JFK’s Death: Inside Their Relationship

In the spring of 1964, America’s former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, landed on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Still reeling from the assassination of her husband, John F. Kennedy, a few months earlier, she hoped that the time alone with her inner circle — including her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy — in a beautiful place would feel healing.

Jackie and Bobby had always enjoyed a warm relationship, but their shared grief over JFK’s death drew them closer. “Bobby was always more accepting of her than the other Kennedy family members,” Paul Brandus, author of Jackie: Her Transition From First Lady to Jackie O., exclusively tells Closer. “He was protective of her.”

For Jackie, marrying into the Kennedy clan in 1953 presented challenges. “The Kennedys were a really extroverted family,” says Brandus. “They were all fierce competitors, whether it’s politics, or business, or sports. They liked to win.” Blood-thirsty football games were played on summer weekends at the family summer home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. “Jackie just watched. The other Kennedys would make fun of her. Like she thought she was too good for them and didn’t want to get her hands dirty.”

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Bobby would play as hard as the others, but he understood Jackie. “Bobby had a tough exterior, but he was also extremely private and a little bit shy,” says Brandus. “He and Jackie were alike in those ways.”

Robert’s wife, Ethel, didn’t share this affection for Jackie. “There’s no question that when Jackie became first lady and a trendsetter on both sides of the Atlantic, Ethel was envious,” says Brandus, who adds that Ethel wasn’t above poking fun at her famous sister-in-law. “Jackie thought her feet were too big, and Ethel seized upon that and teased her about it.”

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After JFK’s death, Jackie only confided her darkest thoughts to Bobby, whom she unreservedly trusted. “Jackie had nightmares, would cry often, and drank in an effort to forget,” says Brandus. Railing against God, the widow “even contemplated suicide,” he says. Only Jackie’s devotion to her two children stopped her.

Bobby, meanwhile, became a shadow of himself. “He lost weight and walked around town like a ghost,” says Brandus, who adds that he took to wearing JFK’s jacket. “He would sneak into Arlington Cemetery at night to visit his brother’s grave.”

It’s no surprise that Jackie and Bobby found solace in each other. When a friend offered up his Caribbean home that spring, Bobby joined Jackie without Ethel. “He and Jackie weren’t alone. A lot of other friends made that trip,” points out Brandus. But the pair spent long hours together, talking about philosophy and trying to make sense of the tragedy. “Jackie’s chief Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, insisted they did not have an affair,” says Brandus, “But in some ways, Jackie was closer to Bobby than she was to her own husband.”