Maria Shriver Speaks out After Saoirse Kennedy Hill’s Tragic Death

Maria Shriver shared an emotional statement on Instagram Friday, following the death of her cousin, Saoirse Kennedy Hill. The 22-year-old granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy died Thursday from a suspected overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, called Hill a “brave young woman.”

“A brave young woman left our world yesterday,” Shriver wrote. “She left a gaping hole in the lives of all of those who loved her dearly. May God bless her. May God hold her parents during this unbearable hour and give them strength to make it thru (sic). Amen.”

Shriver, 63, added some words of advice to those who follow her on Instagram. She included the hashtag, “I’ve been thinking.”

“Life is fragile and heartbreaking. It turns upside down in a minute,” the journalist wrote. “Love your children, hold them tight. Love your family, hold them close. Love your friends, keep them near. Be gentle with others, as so many are fragile and struggling. Actually, I think it’s best to assume everyone is struggling, so treat everyone with love, tenderness, and compassion.”

Hill was found dead at the Kennedy compound Thursday afternoon. She was the daughter of Courtney, the fifth child of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, and Paul Michael Hill.

Hill studied at Boston College and wrote about her battle with depression and mental illness in a 2016 essay.

“My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life,” Hill wrote while studying at Deerfield Academy. “Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest. These bouts would come and go, but they did not outwardly affect me until I was a new sophomore at Deerfield.”

Luciana Klosterman, a close friend of the Kennedys, told the Daily Mail Friday that the Kennedys were trying to get Hill treatment for depression. Klosterman said she saw Hill in November at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ Ripple of Hope awards.

“She was in a good mood and I was so happy to see her happy. She was here with a friend from Ireland and we spent some time together,” Klosterman said. “Maybe two or three months ago, I talked to her over the phone. She was in California. She was trying to find a place for Saoirse there, to help with her depression.”

Another source told Page Six there has “never been any sign to the family that Saoirse was drinking or taking drugs. She wasn’t a partier or anything.”

“Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love,” the Kennedy family said in a statement Thursday. “She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women’s empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever.”

Photo Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images; Twitter/Kerry Kennedy