RFK Jr thanks wife Cheryl Hines for standing by him amid Olivia Nuzzi affair scandal

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr thanked his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, for standing by him amid allegations of his 'digital affair' with reporter Olivia Nuzzi .

The 70-year-old politician spoke to supporters of the Trump campaign in West Palm Beach, Florida with Hines by his side as he expressed gratitude for 'the most supportive person in this room who has sustained me throughout my campaign, Cheryl Hines.'

She later responded by echoing his message of thanks, but added: 'Ooh, it has been a journey.'

Hines has publicly stood by her husband as he dropped out of the presidential election and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

She has also said she is not concerned with allegations of her husband's affair with the former New York Magazine reporter, despite rumors suggesting she was planning to divorce him.

Nuzzi, 31, the Washington DC political correspondent for New York Magazine, acknowledged in September she had a sexting relationship with Kennedy, 70, while covering his campaign.

'Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,' she said.

'During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,' she said.

'The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I've disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.'

But Kennedy has insisted he only met the political journalist once, when she did a profile on him.

In that profile, Nuzzi described meeting the former presidential candidate at the $7 million California home he shares with his wife.

She painted a picture of RFK Jr. as an anti-establishment candidate, 'turning the presidential election upside down'.

'Fear — and denial — is what Kennedy seems to inspire among the staid Washington Establishment supporting the incumbent president and the gangland anti-Establishment Establishment supporting the former president,' she wrote.

She touched on conflict in RFK Jr.'s marriage over his appearance on Steve Bannon's show and those of other right-wing personalities.

'Bannon was only the beginning. Poor Cheryl,' Nuzzi wrote.

At the time the piece was published, RFK Jr. was in the election race as an independent candidate, but has since dropped out and endorsed Trump .

New York magazine has since acknowledged an inappropriate relationship in a statement about Nuzzi's hiatus, deeming it 'a violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures'.

'Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,' the statement read.

Despite news of the affair, Hines and RFK Jr. have been seen together multiple times, with the 59-year-old actress immediately dashing to her husband's side in Massachusetts after his mother, Ethel Kennedy, passed away.

The couple was photographed holding hands at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

The actress was also seen holding onto RFK Jr's arm as they walked into the church where the politician's mother Ethel Kennedy's funeral was taking place.

She later told US Weekly that she was not concerned about the reports of her husband's affair.

'Lots of emotions with rumors,' she said, noting she will be writing a book about her experiences.

'People have a lot of feelings about politics, especially in Hollywood, and I don't know. I mean, so far I feel like it's OK,' she said.

'I'm OK to have conversations like that with people and, to me, it doesn't define somebody. To some people it does and it's like you can't control it. There's nothing I can do about it, so I have to let it wash over me.'

The Emmy-nominated actress, best known as Cheryl in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, went on to tell the outlet she's focusing on her family.

'They're fun. I mean, if I had a boring family it would be tough. And I think just trying to embrace the unknown and instead of fighting against it, is sort of trying to embrace it and just say yes to whatever comes your way,' she said.

'Just to let it flow and to find the little moments and not take anything too seriously. Even though I find myself in very serious situations.'