Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “digital” mistress Olivia Nuzzi is in talks for a new media job after revelations about their relationship derailed her career.
Nuzzi left her job as New York magazine’s Washington correspondent last year after the publication learned of her undisclosed “personal” relationship with Kennedy, who is now Trump’s health secretary.
Kennedy, who is married to Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines, was 70 when the came to light—at the time, a source told CNN the then-31-year-old Nuzzi’s involvement with Kennedy was emotional and digital in nature, but not physical. Veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher later revealed she had played a role in breaking the story after learning about “sexual text messages” between Kennedy and Nuzzi.
According to Semafor, Vanity Fair’s new editor, Mark Guiducci, has spoken with Nuzzi about taking a writing role at the magazine. Guiducci is looking to create a fresh line-up at the magazine ahead of his first issue in November, the report added.
Nuzzi’s relationship with Kennedy reportedly began after she wrote a 2023 profile on him following an in-person interview at his $6.6 million Brentwood, California, home. Kennedy was running for president at the time—he later dropped out and endorsed Trump.
New York magazine said an internal review found no inaccuracies or “evidence of bias” in Nuzzi’s work but, had it been aware of the relationship with Kennedy, “she would not have continued to cover” the 2024 presidential campaign.
David Haskell, New York’s editor-in-chief, decided to cut ties with Nuzzi, a Daily Beast employee from 2014 to 2017, after Kennedy bragged to friends about having intimate photos of the star reporter.
News of the bragging reached Haskell, and he pulled Nuzzi in for a one-to-one. She repeatedly denied an affair before eventually admitting it. Puck News reported at the time that Nuzzi sent “demure” nudes of herself to RFK Jr. during their “sexting” relationship.
After the scandal broke, Nuzzi used time outside of journalism to work on different ventures, like developing an AMC black-comedy show set to be titled A Message from the State. It tells the story of a D.C. reporter breaking away from the mainstream media.
The show was set to be co-written and executive-produced by Nuzzi. It was confirmed to still be in development as of late 2024, but no further updates have been made about its status or release.
A source close to Nuzzi told the Daily Beast in October last year that the journalist had received multiple phone calls in the wake of the scandal involving the married Kennedy scion. They included both shows of support and employment opportunities.
“Olivia has been really heartened by how many people who have reached out,” a person familiar with Nuzzi’s situation told the Daily Beast in October. The person wouldn’t disclose which publications those calls were with, but added “old media doesn’t care” about the affair story and its impact.
A Kennedy spokesperson previously said Kennedy only met Nuzzi once in person, for an interview that “yielded a hit piece.” A source familiar with the matter told the Daily Beast the two had actually met multiple times, however, though some of those meetings were public functions.
The source also maintained that Nuzzi and Kennedy’s relationship was never physical.
Nuzzi suffered in both her personal and professional life as a result of the scandal. Her relationship with Ryan Lizza, formerly Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and co-writer of the publication’s flagship Playbook newsletter, unraveled amid the saga. Nuzzi and Lizza called off their engagement and launched a messy court battle against each other.
The Daily Beast has contacted Nuzzi and Conde Nast for comment.
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