Vanity Fair magazine and its West Coast editor, Olivia Nuzzi, have announced a mutual parting of ways. This decision follows a fresh wave of allegations concerning Nuzzi's past romantic relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, and claims of serious ethical breaches in her journalism.
Contract Ends Amidst Renewed Scrutiny
The announcement was made public on Friday, 5 December 2025. Both Nuzzi and the prestigious Condé Nast publication stated they had “mutually agreed, in the best interest of the magazine, to let her contract expire at the end of the year.” Nuzzi had only signed a short-term contract with Vanity Fair earlier in the year to take on the West Coast editor role. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the split.
This departure marks the second high-profile media exit for Nuzzi linked to her involvement with Kennedy. Previously, while serving as Washington correspondent for New York magazine, she wrote a profile of the politician and subsequently began a relationship with him, which was conducted largely online. When that affair came to light in late 2024, New York magazine terminated her position following an internal investigation into her work.
Ex-Fiancé's Substack Posts Ignite Fresh Controversy
Nuzzi had recently attempted a career comeback, featured in a glitzy New York Times profile last month promoting her new memoir, American Canto. The book, which she wrote while in self-imposed exile in Malibu, details the affair with Kennedy, referring to him only as “The Politician.” An excerpt was published in Vanity Fair.
However, the publicity surge was short-lived. Shortly after the profile and book excerpt appeared, Nuzzi's ex-fiancé, journalist Ryan Lizza, published a series of explosive posts on his Substack. In these posts, Lizza levied damaging new accusations against Nuzzi. He alleged she had engaged in romantic affairs with other prominent politicians and, more critically, that she had acted as a political operative for Kennedy during his independent 2024 presidential campaign.
Implications for Media and Ethics
The allegations, if true, strike at the core of journalistic integrity, blurring the line between reporter and political insider. The swift decision by Vanity Fair to end its contract suggests the magazine deemed the potential reputational damage and ethical questions too significant to overlook. This episode underscores the intense scrutiny facing journalists regarding their personal and professional boundaries, particularly when covering powerful political figures.
For now, Olivia Nuzzi's future in political journalism remains uncertain. The saga, centred on her relationship with RFK Jr., has now cost her positions at two major publications and ignited a fierce debate about ethics in the modern media landscape.
