Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Earlier this month, “Page Six” published photos that appeared to show New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, the top pro-football reporter at “The Athletic,” holding hands at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona. The photos caused a major dustup in the sports world, and since then things have only gotten messier — Russini left her job, Vrabel shared mysteriously that he’s “seeking counseling,” and even more photos of the two of them looking flirty have hit “Page Six.” Here’s what to know about the duo shaping up to be the Coldplay couple of sports broadcasting.
Russini, who was previously an anchor at ESPN, had held the title of senior NFL insider at the New York Times–owned sports publication since 2023 before she stepped down this month. Vrabel has been coaching the Patriots since January 2025. Both of them are married — Vrabel has been with his wife, Jen Vrabel, since 1999, and they share two sons, born in 2000 and 2001.
Russini has been married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt since September 2020, and they also have two sons, born 2021 and 2022.
In the Sedona photos, Vrabel and Russini look to be hugging while taking in the sunset and lounging together in the pool, with one source claiming to have seen them enjoying breakfast together. Right after the photos came out, Russini and Vrabel denied anything was going on romantically between them. “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini told “Page Six.” “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.” Vrabel, meanwhile, told the outlet the photos of them “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”
Another source told “Page Six” that Russini went to the resort as part of a hiking trip with two female friends, while a friend of Vrabel’s said he and Vrabel drove to Sedona for the day and stayed at a different hotel after hanging out with Russini and her friends. Even Russini’s boss, “The Athletic”’s executive director, Steven Ginsberg, defended his star reporter, saying the photos “are misleading and lack essential context.” “These were public interactions in front of many people,” Ginsberg said. “Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at ‘The Athletic.’”
In the days that followed, “The Athletic” seemed to lose some confidence. First, the New York Times — which owns “The Athletic” — reported that the publication was investigating Russini’s conduct. Top bosses at the sports publication were reportedly reviewing her relationship with Vrabel, as well as her work, and said she would not be reporting during the course of the investigation. On April 14 — a week after “Page Six” first published the photos — Russini and the New York Times announced that she had resigned from “The Athletic,” characterizing the decision not as an admission of guilt but an attempt to quiet the rumors.
In a letter sent to Ginsberg that Russini posted on X, she said she stands behind “every story I have ever published” and that she felt “grateful” that the publication supported her “unequivocally” after the photos first emerged. “In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” she wrote.
Russini said she left the publication to stop the “media frenzy” from escalating further. “Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30,” she wrote. “I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Around the time Russini announced her departure, Vrabel skipped the Patriots’ pre-draft press conference, which he conducted last year, per ESPN. In his place, the Patriots’ VP of player personnel, Eliot Wolf, told reporters that Vrabel has been “very involved” with player evaluations this past week, adding that things are “business as usual. He’s been in there with us a little more than he was last year.”
By Tuesday, however, Vrabel and his employers were also taking a different tack. In a brief statement this week, he told reporters that he’d been having “difficult conversations” with his family and the team. “We believe that in order to be successful on and off the field you have to make good decisions,” he said. “That includes me, that starts with me.” The next day, he told ESPN he would miss the third day of the NFL draft (which is this coming Saturday) and instead plans to “seek counseling, starting this weekend.” “I have always wanted to lead by example, and I believe this is what I have to do to be the best husband, father, and coach that I possibly can be,” he added.
On Thursday — more than two weeks since the first photos emerged — “Page Six” published a second set that seems to show Vrabel and Russini kissing at a New York bar on March 11, 2020 (yes, that March 11, 2020). A source told the tabloid they were “kissing and they were all over each other” at the bar and that Vrabel appeared to be wearing his wedding ring. Russini, meanwhile, was apparently engaged to her now husband — they married six months later.
Neither Vrabel nor Russini have responded to the new photos yet, so many questions remain. One thing’s for sure, though: Shake Shack has a great marketing opportunity on its hands.
The Cut has reached out to representatives for Vrabel and Russini and will update this post if we hear back. “The Athletic” declined to comment.
This post has been updated.
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