Former Athletic NFL insider Dianna Russini, returning to sports media after months of public scrutiny, said her husband supported her through what she called a “nightmare” and did not admit to having an affair with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
In an exclusive interview with People, republished in full by AOL, Russini described the aftermath of spring photographs of her with Vrabel as “heartbreaking.” She said her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, has been her biggest supporter as she prepares to launch a new show.
“The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking,” Russini told People. “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”
People reported that Russini and Goldschmidt, married for six years and parents of two sons, stopped following the news cycle about a month after she resigned from The Athletic and deleted their X accounts. Russini said the coverage became “a runaway train” of what she called “lies.”
“Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal,” she said. “It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with.”
Russini said the episode reinforced her family’s unity. “Feeling their love and support helped me believe that, ‘Wait, I know I can go back to doing this. I know that they’re settled. I know that we’re a unit, and no one is going to come between us. Nothing’s going to break us,’” she told People.
According to Russini, one player even texts her on his way to work at 5 a.m. to ask what she’s doing to better herself and reminds her “that you have to stay strong through hard times.”
On the central rumor, Russini again did not concede a romantic relationship with Vrabel. People reported that both Russini and Vrabel, who are married to other people, denied allegations of impropriety and denied having anything more than a professional reporter-source relationship. In the interview, she framed much of the public narrative as false rather than confirming an affair.
After Page Six published Sedona resort photos in April, Russini said the images did not represent a larger group present that day; Vrabel initially called suggestions otherwise “laughable.” He later shifted tone without confirming an affair. Speaking to reporters, he said he had “difficult conversations” with his family, the organization, coaches and players and that success requires “good decisions,” including from him, according to coverage of that news conference.
Before the NFL draft, Vrabel said he was taking accountability for actions that caused a distraction for his family, the Patriots, the organization and fans. “My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to. They don’t,” he said, according to Boston.com and the Associated Press. He committed to counseling and stepped away from the team for Day 3 of the draft to prioritize his family, the team announced. Those steps concerned his personal accountability; they were not an admission by Russini of an affair.
The Athletic later concluded her undisclosed relationship with Vrabel violated newsroom standards “regardless of whether the relationship was romantic,” while finding scant evidence of biased coverage. The outlet did not determine whether the relationship was romantic.
Russini is launching “The Russini Report,” a one-hour NFL show streaming Wednesdays on BetUS TV’s website and X account beginning Nov. 11, and will write an accompanying column, People reported. She will also contribute to the “Nobody’s Safe” podcast with Jon Weiner. The return follows reports that she had multiple job offers. The New York Post, citing the same People interview, likewise highlighted Goldschmidt’s support.
She said NFL figures checked on her and urged her back to work. “I’m not scared to get back in because I know the people that I cover are welcoming me back with open arms,” she told People. In her own words, she casts her marriage as intact and supportive and has not admitted an affair with Vrabel.
