A star political reporter for New York magazine has been placed on leave following an alleged affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr, that began when she visited his $7 million California home to write a feature article.
Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi admitted that ‘the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal’, in a statement to DailyMail.com.
She also claimed the relationship was never physical.
Her editors confirmed that the other party was a ‘former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign’. Status reports that the affair was with the former presidential hopeful, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines.
RFK Jr., 70, has insisted he only met the political journalist once when she did a profile on him last year.
‘Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,’ his spokesman told CNN. A source added that the nature of the relationship was ’emotional and digital in nature, not physical’.
New York magazine Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi is on leave following an affair allegedly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But insiders told the New York Post the pair had engaged in ‘sexting’ despite RFK Jr. being married and Nuzzi being engaged at the time.
‘Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,’ Nuzzi 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.’
New York magazine 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. ‘An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.
‘She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review. We regret this violation of our readers’ trust.’
The former presidential hopeful is married to Hollywood actress Cheryl Hines
Nuzzi, 31, has been engaged to Politico’s chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza, 50, since 2022.
However, the couple have since called off their nuptials, with the New York Post reporting this was in the last few weeks.
Nuzzi is understood to have met father-of-six RFK for a hiking trip last year as part of a profile that she wrote for New York magazine.
A source close to Nuzzi told Status that the relationship did not begin until the new year, after the profile was published in November 2023.
People close to the matter said she did not proactively disclose the affair and New York magazine only recently learned of it.
In 2015, Nuzzi posted a tweet where she railed against Hollywood depictions of journalists using their sexuality to get ahead.
‘Why does Hollywood think female reporters sleep with their sources?’ she asked, along with an article about the portrayal of women in the media as ‘slutty ambition monsters’.
Nuzzi, 31, got engaged to Politico’s chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza, 50 in 2022
She first met RFK Jr at his $6.6million Brentwood mansion he owns with Hines
The two met here before heading for a hike as part of a feature profile which came out in 2023
In her 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.
Nuzzi’s last article, in which she described examining Trump’s ear following the Butler assassination attempt, was published by the magazine on September 9.
Nuzzi reportedly met RFK Jr when doing a profile on him for New York magazine
She previously railed against Hollywood depictions of female reporters using their sexuality to get ahead
It comes amid the news that RFK Jr. is under federal investigation after he allegedly cut off the head of a dead whale and took it home two decades ago.
RFK Jr. has been married to third wife Hines since 2014. As well as his six children and two grandchildren, he is a stepfather to her daughter from a previous relationship.
Nuzzi announced her engagement to Lizza on Instagram on September 22, 2022 with a series of videos showing off a huge, solitaire-cut sparkler on her ring finger.
The couple were due to publish a book together about the 2020 election which has since stalled.
Page Six reported that they were struggling to come up with the anticipated political scoops, with Biden’s team in particular mistrustful of Nuzzi.
The book is still available for pre-order for $16.99 though is not available on Amazon until 2027.
Lizza has two children and was previously married to doctor Christine Gillespie.
RFK Jr.’s spokesman said he met Nuzzi on one occasion only which resulted in a ‘hit piece’
He was formerly a writer for the New Yorker but was fired in 2017 amid a #MeToo scandal after he was accused of ‘improper sexual conduct’.
Lizza branded the conclusion a ‘terrible mistake’ which had not received a proper investigation.
Other media outlets who worked with Lizza conducted their own probe, but did not find evidence of wrongdoing.
DailyMail.com has contacted RFK Jr. for comment.