New York magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have been revealed to not have been cautious in keeping their alleged emotional entanglement a secret, according to sources that spoke with The Post. Nuzzi, who is 31 years old, and the 70-year-old Kennedy scion were reportedly quite casual about this inappropriate relationship and may have shared it with numerous people before it was made public on Thursday.
The source explained, “They weren’t being particularly careful. There’s a reason New York mag found out.” Nuzzi was placed on leave from her position at the magazine following accusations that she had been engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on it, which is a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.
Additionally, other sources informed The Post that the top brass at New York Magazine were already aware of the relationship between Nuzzi and Kennedy Jr., despite reports that she had come clean to her editors. A spokeswoman for New York Magazine declined to comment on the matter.
As the newsroom discussed these scandalous allegations involving one of their star reporters, a source from New York Magazine noted, “It’s all anybody is talking about.” The allegations became public knowledge after Editor-in-Chief David Haskell led a video call with Nuzzi and other newsroom leaders on Thursday night.
Haskell also sent out a memo to the magazine’s staff early Friday morning, informing them that management had become aware of Nuzzi’s relationship a few days prior and was running a third-party investigation into the scandal. The source added that Nuzzi and RFK Jr., who she covered for the magazine in the fall of 2023, were allegedly sexting around the new year.
In her own statement, Nuzzi admitted that “the nature of some communications between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal earlier this year.” However, she insisted that the relationship never became physical. RFK Jr., who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, met with Nuzzi only once in his life for an interview she requested, which resulted in a hit piece, according to a Kennedy spokesperson when asked about their alleged relationship.
Nuzzi was engaged to Politico reporter Ryan Lizza back in September 2022, and he confirmed their split in a statement in Politico on Friday, referring to her as his “ex-fiancée.” The exact timeframe of their separation remains unclear.
