A shocking new photo has emerged showing New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini cozying up together at a Super Bowl party.
The images, obtained by TMZ, show the pair in an intimate conversation during a VIP bash at The Forum in Los Angeles just days before Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.
In the photo, Russini is seen with her hand resting firmly on Vrabel’s back as she leans in close to speak into the ear of the then-Tennessee Titans head coach.
The gathering was reportedly an NFL Honors after-party, held shortly after Vrabel had been officially named the league’s Coach of the Year following a stellar season.
Russini, who was an ESPN employee at the time, had spent the earlier part of that evening working the red carpet before heading to the star-studded party.
The emergence of the 2022 photos follows a turbulent month for both figures, as news of their alleged romance has sent shockwaves through the sports world.
A shocking new photo has emerged showing New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini cozying up together at a Super Bowl party
The images reportedly show the pair in an intimate conversation during an NFL Honors after-party back in 2022 (Russini and Vrabel pictured at the 11th Annual NFL Honors that year)
Rumors of an affair between the two began in March when the New York Post published photos of the NFL insider and coach hugging and hanging out poolside at an adults-only Arizona resort.
Although both initially denied cheating on their respective spouses, Vrabel has since apologized for his ‘actions,’ while stopping short of specifically admitting to an affair.
The married father of two adult sons briefly stepped away from the Patriots during April’s NFL Draft to go through counseling with his family.
The Post has since published photos of Vrabel and Russini enjoying breakfast together at the aforementioned Arizona resort and other pictures showing the two kissing at a New York bar, reportedly, in March of 2020.
Russini and her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, were married in September 2020. Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999.
Furthermore, the Daily Mail has also published photos of Vrabel with Russini at a Biloxi, Mississippi, casino in January of 2024.
The scandal took a fresh twist last Thursday when video footage emerged of them arriving for their romantic boat trip that allegedly took place just months before she gave birth to her first son.
Russini and Vrabel reportedly hired a vessel for two or three hours in June 2021, when he was still coaching the Tennessee Titans and she was reporting on him for ESPN.
Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, for over two decades and they have two children
Dianna Russini married fast food executive Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020 during the pandemic
Russini is pictured interviewing Vrabel in 2019, when he was coaching the Titans
A source with knowledge of the rental said Vrabel and Russini were the only people on board, and that claim was supported by a signed company waiver reviewed by TMZ.
Then, The Daily Mail obtained video footage of the couple walking along the dock of a private rental company near a lake in Putnam County, Tennessee. Russini could be seen strolling a few steps ahead of Vrabel.
But it’s clear that Russini is pregnant at the time of the video when she turns around to speak to Vrabel. The pair were dressed for a day on the water, wearing T-shirts and shorts.
Vrabel and Russini were said to be hesitant to have their pictures taken with fans that day. It was also alleged by TMZ that she declined to have a photo taken with fans, while he agreed on the condition that it not be posted online.
Russini went on to give birth to her first of two sons, named Mike, in August 2021. TMZ reported that Russini named him after her brother, Michael Russini, not the now-Patriots coach.
Elsewhere last week, a separate clip from the same interview also went viral, after Russini made a wild comment about having sex with her husband.
The interview is believed to have been filmed in April 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russini and Vrabel are on the Zoom call but seemingly in separate locations.
Russini was asked to name ‘something you close your eyes to do?’
Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel both appeared on ‘Barstool Feud’ during a Covid lockdown
The NFL insider then bizarrely responded: ‘When you have sex with your husband or wife.’
The rest of the guests burst out laughing while some squirmed awkwardly. It appears Vrabel is using a laptop to the side of his camera shot and briefly pauses what he is doing and shakes his head at Russini’s answer.
Barstool chief Dave Portnoy, an avid Patriots fan, replied to the video on Thursday night: ‘What the f*** is this clip!!! I disavow! There is no way this can be real. Can we just play some football! Hut hut! Blue 42! Blue 42!!! Hut! Hut!’
It is not the first time Russini has been caught saying something disparaging about her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt.
A clip from a 2021 episode of ESPN’s Get Up was recently unearthed, during which Russini discussed her marriage.
‘I’m married to someone average,’ she said at the time. ‘I don’t post a lot about him. If I was married to someone beautiful, I’d over-post too.’
Her ESPN co-hosts later gave Russini a chance to correct herself, to which she explained: ‘We’re average together.’