Dianna Russini Breaks Her Silence On Career Setback With New Perspective Seven Months After Mike Vrabel Photo Controversy

Dianna Russini reflects on life after Mike Vrabel controversy© Getty via AFP

Dianna Russini is back on air. The former Athletic reporter launched The Russini Report on BetUS TV on Wednesday, Nov. 11, seven months after she resigned over paparazzi photos with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. Russini, 43, opened the first episode with a personal note about her months away, speaking calmly about family and priorities. Technical problems pushed the start back by close to 45 minutes, but she still got to the NFL trade deadline once live. Days earlier, she told PEOPLE in an interview the scandal was “a nightmare” for her.

Russini opens up on her months away from the spotlight

She kept the opening note about home. “Over the last few months, I have had a lot of time to think about my life and my priorities and the person that I want to be moving forward, and being home in New Jersey with my husband and our two little boys and being truly present, it gave me so much perspective that I didn't even know I needed,” Russini said.

The backdrop is hard to miss. Page Six published photos of her and Vrabel embracing and holding hands at an Arizona hotel, plus older pictures from a New York bar in 2020 and a Tennessee boat rental in 2021. She left The Athletic over the images.

In the PEOPLE interview, she did not soften it. “The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking.”

She and her husband, Kevin Goldschmidt, deleted their X accounts after the scandal. “The lies became so out of control,” Russini claimed. “This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

The premiere had a rough start and a clear plan

The launch did not go smoothly. BetUS said a “record-breaking audience” broke the livestream.

Once on air, Russini discussed the trade deadline and brought on SiriusXM host Damon Amendolara, Philadelphia radio host Spike Eskin and former NFL coach Bill Parcells.

Russini said she was “very excited” for this new chapter. She told PEOPLE the show is “about everything I know that's going on in the NFL, along with a lot of my opinions.” Those opinions were “something I wasn't really allowed to do before.” That is the real selling point of the new gig.

She also credited the league for staying in her corner. “The absolute best part of this situation has been the loyalty the NFL has shown me. They checked in with me almost daily while I wasn't working to make sure that I was staying connected to football, to check on me as a person and to just see how I was doing,” Russini told PEOPLE.