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Disgraced ex-New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi allegedly became Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s private political fixer during their sexting affair – feeding him dirt from her sources and plotting ways to kill damaging stories during his doomed presidential bid, according to her jilted ex-fiancé.

Ex-Politico reporter Ryan Lizza dropped the bombshell allegations in the third installment of his Substack series, exposing the supposed secrets of his ethics-challenged former flame’s tryst with the 71-year-old Kennedy scion.

“Olivia had essentially become a private political operative for Bobby Kennedy, while publicly posing as a hard-nosed reporter,” Lizza, 51, recounted in a piece published Wednesday afternoon.


  Ex-Politico reporter Ryan Lizza dropped the bombshell allegations in the third installment of his series, exposing the secrets of his ethics-challenged former flame’s tryst with the 71-year-old Kennedy scion. Bryan Dozier/Shutterstock Ex-Politico reporter Ryan Lizza dropped the bombshell allegations in the third installment of his series, exposing the secrets of his ethics-challenged former flame’s tryst with the 71-year-old Kennedy scion. Bryan Dozier/Shutterstock

“In other words, what you have been reading about her is not really a scandal about sex, but a scandal about journalistic ethics.”

The scorned ex claimed Nuzzi opted not to run a story last year about RFK Jr. bizarrely dumping a black bear cub’s carcass into Central Park during a twisted prank years back — despite allegedly having the inside scoop.

Nuzzi then became fixated on securing a copy of “The New Yorker,” which exposed the warped 2014 saga, and later revealed her own sources to the then-Independent candidate, according to Lizza.

“Olivia had heard the strange story from a confidential source,” Lizza wrote.

“But instead of writing it herself and owning what would become one of the most infamous stories of 2024, or handing it off to a colleague at New York, Olivia outed the source to Bobby and told him everything she had learned. Together they plotted ways to kill it, or, at the very least, get ahead of it.”


  Olivia Nuzzi allegedly became Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s private political fixer during their sexting affair, according to her jilted ex-fiancé Lizza. Emilio Madrid/Courtesy Simon & Schuster Olivia Nuzzi allegedly became Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s private political fixer during their sexting affair, according to her jilted ex-fiancé Lizza. Emilio Madrid/Courtesy Simon & Schuster

Lizza said Nuzzi later admitted she did this “regularly throughout 2024: canvassing sources who trusted her, obtaining their opposition research on Bobby, and then feeding it directly to the candidate.”

He also claimed the 32-year-old scandal-plagued writer allegedly killed another story and got a young campaign staffer fired after bringing her information that might have threatened his presidential run.

What we know about Olivia Nuzzi's relationship with RFK Jr.

  • New York magazine’s star political correspondent Olivia Nuzzi was placed on leave over an alleged ‘sexting’ relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • The reporter admitted to a non-physical “personal relationship” with Kennedy scion.
  • Nuzzi, 31, penned a profile on Kennedy, 70, that was published in November 2023, and sometime after that, the two reportedly began their alleged fling.
  • Nuzzi’s fiancé, Politico correspondent Ryan Lizza, announced the couple had ended their engagement on Friday.

“One day, a young campaign aide approached Olivia with an inside account of the chaotic process that led Bobby to select Nichol Shanahan as his running mate,” Lizza wrote.

“But instead of pursuing the story, Olivia convinced the staffer to remain loyal to Bobby — and then informed the candidate of everything. She had successfully caught and killed an embarrassing tell-all from a campaign whistleblower whose identity she revealed to the candidate.”

Lizza began telling his side of the story after Nuzzi revealed she would be publishing a tell-all about the emotionally-charged, never-physical sordid affair with the once-presidential candidate, “American Canto.”


  During their sexting affair, Nuzzi was allegedly feeding Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dirt from her sources and plotting ways to kill unflattering stories during his doomed presidential bid. AP During their sexting affair, Nuzzi was allegedly feeding Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dirt from her sources and plotting ways to kill unflattering stories during his doomed presidential bid. AP

In the explosive expose, Nuzzi refers to RFK Jr., as the “the politician” and details how their digital dalliance blossomed into a hot-and heavy genuine connection after she wrote an article about him in October 2023, when he was still a presidential candidate.

The scandal — which broke in August 2024 — left Nuzzi dumped by Lizza, embroiled in legal battles with him, and fleeing to Los Angeles, where she holed up for a year to write her tell-all.

Kennedy has long-denied having an inappropriate relationship with Nuzzi.

While she has since landed a job as Vanity Fair’s new West Coast editor, Lizza’s explosive claims have reportedly prompted the Condé Nast-owned publication to review her past conduct.

“In the media business, there are few journalistic crimes as serious as betraying a confidential source,” Lizza wrote Wednesday.

“How could any source – or reader – trust such a reporter again? And if they happened to become an editor, how could any reporter trust that editor with their own confidential sourcing?”

He teased future installments will expose “the most bizarre, consequential, and newsworthy events.”

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