Kerry Kennedy shared a touching update on the health of her cousin, Tatiana Schlossberg, who announced her terminal cancer diagnosis in an essay for The New Yorker on November 22.
Kerry, who is the niece of former President John F. Kennedy, spoke exclusively to HELLO! on Tuesday night at the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City.
© Getty Images for RFK Ripple Of HShe opened up about her cousin's ailing health and praised Tatiana's decision to reveal her diagnosis to the world. "You know, she was so incredibly brave to express herself, and right now we're all holding her in our hearts, and holding Caroline in our hearts," Kerry shared.
Tatiana is the granddaughter of JFK, and the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin Schlossberg. The 35-year-old was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia just after she gave birth to her second child in May 2024.
"I did not – could not – believe that they were talking about me," she wrote of the moment she learned of her illness. "I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn't sick. I didn't feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew."
Tatiana has been undergoing treatment since, including participating in a clinical trial, yet was ultimately given a year to live by her doctors. The former New York Times reporter admitted how difficult it had been to be present in her children's lives while undergoing treatment.
© Getty Images for New York MagaziShe shares her three-year-old son, Edwin, and her one-year-old daughter with her husband, George Moran. "I had a son whom I loved more than anything and a newborn I needed to take care of," she wrote. "My parents and my brother and sister, too, have been raising my children and sitting in my various hospital rooms almost every day for the last year and a half."
"They have held my hand unflinchingly while I have suffered, trying not to show their pain and sadness in order to protect me from it. This has been a great gift, even though I feel their pain every day."
© POOL/AFP via Getty Images"For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry," she added.
"Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family's life, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Mostly, I try to live and be with them now. But being in the present is harder than it sounds, so I let the memories come and go."
© NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal viaCaroline lost her father, JFK, when he was assassinated in 1963. Her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., died in a plane crash in 1999. In the powerful essay, Tatiana also criticized the actions of her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the brother of Kerry Kennedy.
The controversial figure is the current Secretary of Health and Human Services, and has drawn heavy criticism for spreading medical misinformation and anti-vaccine conspiracies.
