Who is Olivia Nuzzi? The reporter on leave for ‘personal relationship’ with RFK Jr

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Olivia Nuzzi, a reporter for New York Magazine, has been placed on leave after revealing her "personal relationship" with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who previously ran for president as an Independent candidate.

Since becoming part of the magazine team in 2017, the 31-year-old journalist has built a name for herself with her sharp and engaging articles about political leaders, alongside thoroughly researched stories on presidential campaigns. On occasion, Nuzzi has found herself in the spotlight, like when she shared her text exchanges with Rudy Giuliani in 2019 or faced backlash for entering Corey Lewandowski's office without authorization in 2018.

She made a brief appearance in "Billions" and recently launched a documentary series titled “Working Capital” in collaboration with Bloomberg, where she interviews notable figures such as billionaire Mark Cuban, among others.

In the last few months, she has released articles about the Democratic Party's "conspiracy of silence" aimed at protecting then-candidate President Biden, as well as a revealing interview with former President Donald Trump, which was featured as a cover story in the magazine last week. Since then, each of these articles has been updated with a note from the publication, stating that all of Nuzzi’s reporting related to the 2024 election is currently being reassessed.

On Thursday, a 31-year-old journalist was put on leave by the magazine due to what it described as a "breach of our readers' trust," as stated in an announcement. The magazine explained that Nuzzi breached its editorial guidelines by forming a personal relationship with a former subject related to the 2024 campaign while covering the campaign.

They stated, "If the magazine had known about this relationship, she would not have continued following the presidential campaign."

David Haskell, the editor of New York Magazine, informed the staff in a memo on Friday that the magazine intends to enlist an “independent third party” to examine Nuzzi’s writing for 2024. This review aims to determine if there are any details related to Nuzzi’s connections with a 70-year-old anti-vaxxer that the publication needs to address or clarify.

He mentioned that the results of their investigation will affect the “final disciplinary decision” concerning Nuzzi. This comes after the magazine performed an internal audit of Nuzzi’s writing during the 2024 campaign, concluding that there were “no errors or signs of bias.”

Haskell mentioned that the magazine discovered the relationship "a few days ago" and quickly decided to remove her from the 2024 campaign coverage. While the magazine did not reveal the individual's identity, media reporter Oliver Darcy identified him as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his Status newsletter. Darcy referenced an unnamed source claiming that the relationship only started after Nuzzi's profile of the candidate was published in 2023.

During that period, she created an in-depth profile of Kennedy while he was campaigning as an Independent for the 2024 presidential election. She detailed her experiences hiking with him and his dogs, as well as joining him for a drive in an old, beat-up minivan. She later revealed to the magazine that their “personal relationship” lasted from December 2023 to August.

In a statement provided to various news organizations, including CNN and the New York Times, Nuzzi confirmed that she had a connection with one of her sources, but she rejected claims that it became physical.

"Earlier this year, my interactions with someone I had previously reported on became more personal," she stated. "During that period, I didn’t cover that person or use them as a source. Although our relationship was never physical, I should have revealed it to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. I truly regret not addressing this sooner and I apologize to everyone I may have let down, particularly my colleagues at New York."

While the Kennedy family member hasn't said anything publicly about the rumored relationship, a representative for the politician informed the New York Times that he met the reporter just once, for an interview that she initiated, which resulted in a negative article.

Kennedy has been wed to Cheryl Hines, known for her role in Curb Your Enthusiasm, since 2014. On the other hand, Nuzzi has been engaged to journalist Ryan Lizza since 2022.