Olivia Nuzzi is sharing new details of her alleged affair with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The New York Times previewed the journalist’s new book, American Canto, in a profile published on Friday, November 14, where Nuzzi details her account of their alleged relationship.
In the book, Nuzzi, 32, claims that RFK Jr., 71, told her he wanted to have her baby despite previously suggesting their relationship was “never physical”, per the Times.
The outlet reported Nuzzi also claims in the book that RFK Jr. was the first to say “I love you,” wrote her poems and promised to take a bullet for her. Nuzzi claims via the book, which will be released on December 2, that RFK Jr.’s nickname for her was “Livvy.”
Us Weekly has reached out to RFK Jr.’s representatives for comment.
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In October 2024, Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza claimed in court documents that Nuzzi told him that RFK Jr. wanted to “impregnate” her, among other claims.
“Nuzzi had been cheating on me with a married man for almost a year,” Lizza claimed in court documents filed on October 14, 2024, and obtained by Page Six.
He added, “She admitted the affair and over the course of weeks of conversations she confided how she fell into what she described as ‘toxic’ ‘unhealthy’ ‘stupid’ ‘psychotic’ ‘crazy’ ‘indefensible’ relationship with a 70-year-old ‘sex addict’ who told her he wanted to ‘possess,’ ‘control,’ and ‘impregnate’ her.”
Us Weekly reached out for comment to Nuzzi and RFK Jr. at the time.
News broke of Nuzzi’s alleged “inappropriate personal relationship” with RFK Jr. shortly after she conducted an interview about his political career for New York Magazine in September 2024. The same month, the magazine addressed Nuzzi allegedly failing to disclose her relationship status with Kennedy.
“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,” the magazine’s statement read, in part.
At the time, neither New York Magazine nor Nuzzi publicly named RFK Jr., but CNN and The New York Times both reported that he was indeed the subject. In a statement to The Times, Nuzzi denied having a physical relationship with the politician.
“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,” Nuzzi said via her statement. “I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
RFK Jr. also denied the affair through his spokesperson. “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,” the rep told NBC News in a statement in September 2024.
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Both Nuzzi and RFK Jr. were involved in preexisting relationships, with Nuzzi’s then-fiancé Lizza ending his engagement to Nuzzi following the scandal.
For his part, RFK Jr. has been married to actress Cheryl Hines since 2014.
Hines addressed the speculation and headlines surrounding her marriage during an October episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
“I think you always have to consider the source, right?” she said on the podcast at the time. “So that’s where I start. And then it ends with a conversation with Bobby.”
Hines added, “Bobby had been running for president, and it was an exhausting year-and-a-half of headlines and rumors and articles and chaos. And at that time, I thought, ‘OK, this is more chaos and more rumors.’ And, um, it was a lot.”
After she was asked about Nuzzi’s upcoming book release, Hines responded, “I don’t know this person. Don’t know their intentions. I could guess, but I won’t. But you can if you want.”
