RFK. Jr breaks his silence on the Olivia Nuzzi 'affair' in Fox News interview

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly addressed salacious allegations that he had an affair with decades-younger suspended New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi for the first time.

The former presidential candidate, 70, was grilled by Fox News host Martha MacCallum on if he had any 'regrets' over sexting the 31-year-old star journalist after she profiled him last year.

'I never comment on those kind of stories,' he said bluntly in response, and suggested they talk about healthy diets or the Ukraine war instead.

MacCallum said his candidacy had been surrounded by scandal - including bizarre allegations about dead animals - and suggested some voters may be questioning his behavior.

Details of the dalliance with Nuzzi emerged last week when New York Magazine announced she was on leave pending an investigation into her conduct.

'I don't make comments on it,' Kennedy fired back at Fox News host Martha MacCallum when she pressed him on reports he received nude pictures from the much-younger reporter.

'I never comment on those kind of stories. If you want to talk about health or how to end the war in Ukraine or how to end inflation or censorship, [the] surveillance regime, I'm happy to talk,' he explained.

Eagle-eyed observers also spotted one key telling element during his interview about his relationship status with his famous wife Cheryl Hines. 

The politician was still wearing his wedding ring given to him by his glamorous TV star wife Hines despite the controversy.

Meanwhile, Hines was spotted without her wedding band as the shocking affair broke. 

The actress, 59, beamed as she stepped out in Milan, Italy on Friday evening following a Gucci-hosted afterparty during Milan Fashion Week. 

Bombshell photographs showed that she had ditched her large diamond wedding ring that she had been pictured wearing less than a week ago at the Emmy Awards on Sunday. 

The doctor ex-wife of Politico reporter Ryan Lizza, Nuzzi's ex-fiancee, has summed up her feelings about the RFK Jr. love-triangle the father of her children now finds himself embroiled in.

Dr. Christina Irene Gillespie, 50, a prominent physician who specializes in family medicine in Washington, DC, was not interested in saying very much about the media frenzy that's ensued since her ex-husband's 31-year-old fiancee was exposed for carrying on a 'digital' affair with Kennedy, the now Trump-supporting former 2024 presidential candidate.

'That is not my business,' she said this week when The Mail caught up to her by phone at her medical office. 

While she fielded a question and did not hang up she did seem eager to cut short the conversation about her ex's very public embarrassment.

'I am taking care of patients right now. Please don't call back,' she said before hanging up.

Gillespie and Lizza, Politico's chief Washington correspondent and co-author of its Playbook newsletter, were married for 11 years and share two children. They split in 2015.

Lizza was working as the Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, a role he'd had since the late 2000s, until allegations of 'improper sexual misconduct,' surfaced that led to his firing in 2017, as per The New York Times.

He denied the allegations and claimed the relationship was consensual and respectful. He also alleged that The New Yorker came to their decision in haste and without a full investigation. 

At the time, the magazine cited privacy concerns and declined to provide further details about the case. His accuser remains anonymous. 

His potential fall from grace was also happening during the height of #MeToo, a movement that focused on sexual harassment and abuse of women in the workplace in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

It was a time when many powerhouse figures were being held accountable for inappropriate and criminal behavior. Hollywood mogul turned sex offender Weinstein, 72, was ultimately convicted at trial in New York and has been behind bars since that criminal conviction in 2020 for two sex crimes. 

In 2022, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Before Lizza was ousted, he had just hit a career high, landing an interview with White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci that reportedly led to Scaramucci's dismissal.  

The saga between Nuzzi, star political reporter for New York magazine and the former presidential candidate all began when Nuzzi went to interview RFK Jr, at his $7 million Brentwood, California home for a feature story she was writing.

But, Nuzzi became part of the story -  a scandal that include alleged sexting, provocative photos and even a bear carcass - once she began an alleged affair with the three-time married politician and father-of-six.

JFK Jr. has been married to actress Cheryl Hines since 2014.

The 59-year-old actress, best known for playing Larry David's friendly yet loyal and forgiving wife in the sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, had been very supportive during her husband's bid for office.

Hines who isn't sitting home behind the gates of her mansion has been out and about despite being pictured without her wedding ring at Milan Fashion Week in Italy last week and Gucci-hosted afterparty.

Since the news went public, Nuzzi was placed on leave. 

She admitted in a statement to Daily Mail when the story first broke that 'the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal.'

She also claimed the relationship was never physical.

Nuzzi is understood to have met  RFK for a hiking trip last year as part of a profile that she wrote for New York magazine.

A source close to Nuzzi told Status that the relationship did not begin until the new year, after the profile was published in November 2023.

People close to the matter said she did not proactively disclose the affair and New York magazine only recently learned of it. 

Her editors confirmed that the other party was a 'former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign'. Status reports that the affair was with the former presidential hopeful, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines.

RFK Jr., has insisted he only met the political journalist once when she did a profile on him last year.

'Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,' his spokesman told CNN. A source added that the nature of the relationship was 'emotional and digital in nature, not physical'.

But insiders told the New York Post the pair had engaged in 'sexting' despite RFK Jr. being married and Nuzzi being engaged at the time.

'Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,' Nuzzi said.

'During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,' she said.

'The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I've disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.'

New York magazine acknowledged an inappropriate relationship in a statement about Nuzzi's hiatus, deeming it 'a violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures'.

'Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,' the statement read. 'An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.

'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.'

 Gillespie and Lizza met when they were both students at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Their June 20, 2004 wedding was held at the posh St. Regis Hotel in Washington DC and their wedding announcement ran in The New York Times wedding and celebrations page. 

At the time, Lizza was 29 and an editor at The New Republic and its White House correspondent, and his new bride, Gillispie, 30, was practicing at Unity Healthcare, a community clinic in Washington.

She is also an assistant clinical professor of medicine at both Georgetown University and George Washington University. 

Gillespie, who has been a physician for nearly 25 years, also has a master's degree in public health from Tufts University in Boston. In 2016 and 2018, she was rated 'Top Doctor in Washingtonian Magazine.

'I am a family physician because I enjoy caring for patients throughout their lifespan, from newborns to geriatrics and everyone in between.'

'I have a particular interest in pediatrics and in patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I practice the science of evidence-based medicine combined with the art of the human touch.

I look forward to partnering with you in preventive care, acute care, and chronic disease management,' according to a statement published by HealthGrades.

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