How NY mag’s Olivia Nuzzi covered RFK Jr. after alleged ‘sexting’ started — and the tweet that’s haunting her

New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi name-checked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. numerous times after their romantic relationship is thought to have started — while her snooty attack on those accusing reporters of having flings with sources has come back to bite her.

The 31-year-old star political reporter was placed on leave after admitting a non-physical “personal relationship” with a former 2024 campaign subject while reporting on the presidential campaign, the magazine said late Thursday.

Neither Nuzzi nor the magazine divulged the identity, but sources told The Post that the Washington correspondent had allegedly been sexting Kennedy — while she was engaged and he was married.

New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi was placed on leave after after she admitted that she’d had a “personal relationship” with a former 2024 campaign subject. Getty Images for Vox Media

Their alleged fling kicked off sometime after Nuzzi penned a profile on Kennedy that was published in November 2023, STATUS news reported, citing sources.

Another source told the outlet that the relationship is believed to have begun around the new year.

Since then, Nuzzi has mentioned Kennedy’s name in at least four articles published by New York magazine under her name.

His name featured twice in her January story on the campaign of former President Donald Trump, titled, “Trump haters turned Trump voters.”

Nuzzi also mentioned him twice in an April article about Arizona’s Senate race and once more in a May clip that focused on the Trump campaign.

Most recently, Nuzzi referenced Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump in a piece published on Sept. 9.

In it, she noted how the Republican nominee was now “talking about food quality and public health and forever chemicals — subjects of huge interest to Kennedy’s eclectic base.”

Nuzzi shared this tweet in June.
Nuzzi shared this tweet in March 2024.

Nuzzi’s references to Kennedy in her articles all appeared to be in the context of reporting facts, such as his polling numbers, as opposed to offering personal opinion on the former independent presidential candidate.

She also tweeted several times about Kennedy after her profile piece was published — including several posts about the possibility of him receiving Secret Service protection when he was still a candidate.

Nuzzi, who has covered the 2024 presidential campaign extensively and has been behind some of the magazine’s splashier profile pieces, has stressed she never used Kennedy as a source for any of her articles, a source told STATUS.

Nuzzi shared this tweet regarding RFK Jr.’s Secret Service request.

She also insisted in her statement that the relationship in question wasn’t ever physical in nature.

Still, a tweet she posted back in 2015 has since resurfaced, in which Nuzzi shared a link to a New York mag story about the depiction of female reporters on the big screen as “slutty ambition monsters.”

“Why does Hollywood think female reporters sleep with their sources?” Nuzzi wrote on X in the years-old post, adding, “I don’t actually want to know why you think that’s the case, people. That’s just the gist of this article.”

“This aged well,” one follower wrote after the scandal broke, with another sarcastically asking: “Update?”

The reporter and politician had a “sexting” relationship while Nuzzi was engaged and RFK Jr. was married. Megan Smith-USA TODAY

The magazine, for its part, said it had carried out an interview review of Nuzzi’s published work in the wake of the relationship coming to light — and that “no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias” were uncovered.

“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” it said in a statement.

“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.”

Kennedy has been married to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines since 2014.

Nuzzi was engaged to Politico reporter and collaborator Ryan Lizza in 2022, but the pair called it quits recently, sources told The Post.