Olivia Nuzzi has made headlines over rumors about an alleged relationship between her and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Although the journalist has not directly referred to RFK, Olivia revealed that she had developed a “personal” relationship with someone relevant to the 2024 presidential campaign. Her acknowledgment resulted in her employer, New York magazine, placing her on leave.
Who Is Olivia Nuzzi?
Olivia is a political reporter, who has served as a correspondent for New York magazine. The New York City native has written for a variety of publications, including Bloomberg News, The New York Times and The Washington Post, per her Muck Rack profile.
The Washington D.C. correspondent was also mentioned in Forbes‘ “30 Under 30” list in 2017.
In September 2024, Olivia’s employer, New York magazine, published a statement revealing that Olivia had “acknowledged to the magazine’s editors that she had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign, a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.”
“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” the publication noted. “An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review. We regret this violation of our readers’ trust.”
.@Olivianuzzi joined @cenkuygur & @AnaKasparian to discuss the blowback she received when reporting accurately on Joe Biden's cognitive decline: pic.twitter.com/KBpoc4v6ce
— The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) September 10, 2024
Were Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr. in a Relationship?
Although New York magazine didn’t reveal whom Olivia had a “personal relationship” with, CNN reported that it was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The outlet noted that a “person with direct knowledge of the matter” insisted that Olivia’s relationship with RFK was “emotional and digital in nature, not physical.” The first to report the news was Oliver Darcy.
In response to the report, a spokesperson for Robert told the outlet that the politician “only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
In her own statement, Olivia did not disclose the name of the “former reporting subject” whom she had developed a “personal relationship” with.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Olivia explained in her statement. “During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
Is Olivia Nuzzi Married?
Olivia is engaged to her fiancé, Ryan Lizza, a fellow journalist. He works as the Chief Washington Correspondent for Politico and previously worked as a political analyst for CNN.
In 2017, Ryan was dismissed from The New Yorker after he was accused of sexual misconduct. Though he denied any wrongdoing, he was later let go from CNN.