Sports journalist Dianna Russini and her family were unfortunately hurled into the spotlight in April 2026 when pictures of her and New England Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel made the rounds online. Although Mike and Dianna initially slammed rumors of an affair, public concern over their respective families arose, especially since both have kids from their marriages.
Earlier this year, a series of images, taken at a swanky hotel in Arizona, showed Mike and Dianna weaving their fingers together and seemingly sharing a hug, which many took as signs of an intimate relationship. In response, Mike and Dianna downplayed the photos.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini pointed out in a statement obtained by The New York Post. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues,” she added.
Mike provided his own statement to The Post, which read, “These photos show a completely innocent interaction, and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
However, weeks later, a separate set of images published by Page Six revealed the pair getting cozy at a New York City bar in March 2020 — six years before the hotel photos emerged.
Learn about Dianna’s family, her husband and their children here.
Dianna is a sports journalist who previously worked for The Athletic and for ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” She resigned from her position at The Athletic in April 2026, sharing her resignation letter on X. In her note, Dianna wrote that she chose to “step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
