Dan Marino: Miami Dolphins Quarterback Fathered Love Child

The football hero paid the mother of his love child, a former CBS employee, millions to keep quiet.

Dan Marino cheated on his wife of 28 years, Claire, with Donna Savattere, a production assistant at CBS Sports. Their daughter Chloe, 7, was born in June 2005, and is currently being raised by Donna and her husband.

Dan Marino Fathers Love Child With Donna Savattere

“They had an affair, and she had a baby,” a source told The New York Post. “Everything was on the down-low and secretive.”

The news comes days before Dan, the ex-Miami Dolphins quarterback, is set to work the big Super Bowl Today telecast on Feb. 3.

Dan, 51, confirmed the affair on Jan. 30, saying in a statement: “This is a personal and private matter. I take full responsibility both personally and financially for my actions now as I did then. We mutually agreed to keep our arrangement private to protect all parties involved.”

At the time of the affair, Dan was married to his wife of 20 years. They have six kids together, including four boys and two adopted daughters.

“My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years and have six children together,” he wrote on Jan. 30, his 28th wedding anniversary. “And we continue to be a strong and loving family,” Dan continued in his statement.

Dan allegedly agreed to pay Donna millions to raise Chloe and she moved to Texas as part of the deal.

“They would have impromptu meetings, which was part of the deal,” a source told the newspaper. “Donna was always saying she had to go meet with her lawyers to go over the scheduling and other issues.”

Donna’s closest friends apparently knew that Dan was the father of her daughter. When she married Nahill Younis in 2009, Donna petitioned to change Chloe’s name from Chloe Alexis Savattere to Chloe Alexis Younis.
Managing Editor Bill Earl thinks CBS should can Dan and not allow him to cover the Super Bown on Feb. 3!

Dan’s Children Support Him

Dan’s children are very vocal about what a great father he is. His son Michael, 24, is autistic, and Dan has established a charity called the DanMarino Foundation that holds an annual awareness day called Walkabout Autism. It has been running for twenty years, and his son Michael spoke about how supportive he is.

“He is just a very kind person, a very good father and he cares a lot about his kids,” said Michael to CBS Local. “Because of (his) support and that push, I am able to be who I am today and be able to speak well, which I had a real problem with when I was younger,” recalled Marino. ”I found myself when I was younger pointing at a lot of things.”

His son Joseph, 23, plays a lot of golf with his father. He posted a telling tweet on Dec. 25 2011, when he said “Spent my Christmas at the beach with my dad @DanMarino.” It is interesting that he did not mention any other family members or his mom — were Dan and Claire separated at this time?

What do YOU think, HollyMoms? Should Dan’s wife leave him?

The New York Post ➚
CBS Local ➚
Joseph’s Twitter ➚