Make Page Six a Preferred Source Dianna Russini doubled down on her commitment to her family in her big media return following the bombshell Mike Vrabel scandal.
Russini, whose new show on BetUS, “The Russini Report,” got off to a bleak start when it was delayed by close to an hour, began her debut episode by addressing the controversy that erupted over her relationship with the New England Patriots coach.
“Over the last few months, I have had a lot of time to think about my life and my priorities and the person I want to be moving forward and being home in New Jersey with my husband and our two little boys and being truly present,” Russini said at the top of her new show.
“It gave me so much perspective that I didn’t even know I needed. I’ve also had a lot of long conversations with people all around football. You know, some were about the game and others were just about life to the people who picked up the phone and checked in and offered both encouragement and honest advice, from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she continued.
“Those conversations helped me find my way back to the work I love and back to myself, right here, hosting the show.”
Russini added that her passion for covering the NFL has “never been stronger.”
The premiere marked her first time being back in the spotlight since photos of her and Vrabel went viral earlier this year. The show was slated to air live at 12 p.m. ET, but did not air until almost 1 p.m. ET.
Production sources exclusively told Page Six that the delay was due to an overwhelming number of viewers, adding that BetUS was “working on adding capacity, as it’s the record number of views on their site.”
The reporter’s return comes seven months after she quit her job at the New York Times’ Athletic after it was revealed that her relationship with Vrabel was under investigation.
The investigation was launched after Page Six exclusively published photos of the two getting cozy at a hotel in Sedona, Arizona, in March.
In the photos, the two were seen having breakfast together, hugging and holding hands.
Page Six also obtained photos of the two kissing at Tribeca Tavern in New York City that dated all the way back in March 2020.
Both Vrabel and Russini have denied allegations of an affair. The two remain married to their respective spouses.
The sports reporter has been married to Shake Shack exec Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020, while Vrabel has been married to wife Jen since 1999.
After Russini, Vrabel was absent from Day 3 of the NFL Draft to seek counseling.
The Athletic later concluded that the two shared an inappropriate relationship, and “was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards.”
“Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” Mike Semel, the outlet’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality, wrote at the time.
The reporter opened up about the scandal in a new interview with People that was published Monday, where she called the scandal a “nightmare.”
“This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal. It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with,” she said.
This week, the former ESPN journalist also made her return to X, sharing inside info about the Kirk Cousins trade from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Minnesota Vikings.
While she was mocked by many users, the trade was confirmed by the teams just moments after she posted the insider info.
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