Former MSNBC star Keith Olbermann has broken his silence on his affair with journalist Olivia Nuzzi, revealing that they even lived together when she was 21 and he was 55.
Olbermann admitted his relationship in his Countdown on Tuesday, in a podcast in which he said he knew the story would break after Nuzzi, 31, was found to have an affair with Robert Kennedy Jr., 70.
“Eventually and inevitably this story will come to me because she and I lived together for a long time,” Olbermann said.
“We had dogs, tattoos and rings. And like all relationships, it was really nice at first, then things happened, we worked on it and it ended.”
Olbermann said the relationship lasted about three years and ended by mutual consent.
Former MSNBC star Keith Olbermann has broken his silence on his affair with journalist Olivia Nuzzi, revealing that they even lived together when she was 21 and he was 55.
Nuzzi is on leave from New York Magazine after her affair with Robert Kennedy Jr. was exposed.
He said he was talking about it because The New York Post contacted him. after Nuzzi was placed on leave by her date with Kennedy, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines.
“I’m not the Nuzzi Nudes Network and I’m here to give away free stories,” Olbermann said.
“Almost the entire relationship was surprisingly mundane.”
Olbermann admitted that Nuzzi “did some weird things during the three years this was going on,” but that he, too, “did some weird things.”
She also said that “her parents were not the best role models” and that “sometimes she didn’t appreciate the consequences of her actions.”
However, Olbermann added that despite RFK Jr’s claims, “there is nothing to suggest that Olivia would have continued to send nude photos to a guy unless he wanted them.”
Olbermann said she has not spoken to her ex since the breakup and cannot defend any of her journalistic decisions.
But recalling a touching moment, Olbermann said Nuzzi took care of him the day he acquired his “beloved” dog Stevie, “and she and I dedicated our lives to Stevie,” he added.
“And Olivia taught me a lot about how to be successfully adopted by a dog and all dogs, and the anniversary of that is next Monday.”
He then finished by saying that all the work he has done with animals and dogs is thanks to her and that he will always have her support if he needs it, joking: “I don’t want to risk it, but I’m starting to suspect that she likes old people.”
The affair with Olbermann reportedly took place while Nuzzi was interning with now-disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner.
Nuzzi first gained notoriety after writing about her time in Weiner’s office as he dealt with sexual scandals that ended his political career.
Olbermann added that despite RFK Jr’s claims, “there is nothing to suggest that Olivia would have continued to send nude photos to a guy unless he wanted them.”
This comes as Kennedy is reportedly considering suing Nuzzi over the pornographic content she sent him.
Olbermann, who never married and previously dated Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Fox News host Laura Ingraham and MSNBC star Katy Tur, criticized both Nuzzi and RFK Jr. on social media when the romance erupted.
He said Kennedy’s attempts to investigate Nuzzi were reprehensible, but he did not hesitate to say that he believed what she did was wrong.
‘This psychopath and serial harasser of women @RobertKennedyJr is talking about arresting @Olivianuzzi? I don’t excuse his behavior, but the dynamics just changed here.’
Olbermann continued: “Fuck him. It’s a load of absolutely irresponsible shit. If you engage in these sexts and they become a problem, you call his boss. And within 10 months.”
This comes as Kennedy is reportedly considering suing Nuzzi over pornographic content she sent him.
Jessica Read Kraus, author of the popular House Inhabit Substack, wrote Saturday that Kennedy is exploring his legal options after Nuzzi allegedly “bombarded him with increasingly pornographic photos and videos.”
Nuzzi, Kraus reported, made a “flirtatious comment during a phone conversation,” prompting the independent candidate to block the prominent journalist.
Nuzzi then contacted Kennedy via email to ask him to unblock her number, “but later that evening, she sent him a provocative photo, prompting him to block her again,” Kraus’ account said.
Olbermann admitted that Nuzzi “did some weird things during the three years this was going on,” but that he, too, “did some weird things.”
Security expert Gavin de Becker is investigating the situation to see if Kennedy can file a civil suit against Nuzzi, Kraus said.
The Daily Beast reported Sunday that the sexting scandal came to light after Kennedy bragged to friends that he had intimate photos of Nuzzi, and word reached New York editor-in-chief David Haskell.
However, sources close to Nuzzi, while not denying the tension between the two, told the New York Post that she was not trying to pursue him.
“It is absolutely not true that she was the aggressor, but both parties were aware of the high pressure and high risk of the circumstances and that is why their communication was very intermittent,” the source said.
Nuzzi editor-in-chief David Haskell confronted Nuzzi about the matter at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the magazine’s Manhattan office, sources close to the story told The Daily Beast.
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