Mike Vrabel has expressed his love for his wife, Jennifer, and their kids amid his viral photo scandal with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
In March, Russini — who is married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt — and the New England Patriots coach were pictured holding hands and hugging at a luxury resort in Arizona. Since then, additional images of Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, captured over the past few years have resurfaced.
Vrabel issued an apology for his behavior (without addressing the nature of his relationship with Russini) last month and said he was seeking counseling. Meanwhile, Russini, who resigned from her job at The Athletic after the Arizona photos were leaked, has stayed silent.
During a Wednesday press conference for the Patriots, Vrabel gave a rare update about his personal life, saying, “My family is great. I love Jen, I love the boys.”
He continued: “I love my personal friends, and then this spring is focused on really the coaching staff, the players — more importantly than the coaching staff — but you know, just seeing the coaches in the second year, just seeing how smooth the conversations are.”
When asked how he thinks the players have “responded to [his] leadership” in recent months, he said he didn’t “want to speak” for them.
“I feel great. I feel like I’m trying to give them the information that will help them do their job,” Vrabel continued. “I’ve talked about this, as far as the balance between their own success, which leads to great things for them and the people that they care about, but then also trying to manage that with the team.”
Asked if he sees himself stepping away from the team again this season, after missing the latter half of the NFL draft in April, he said: “Who knows what’s going to come up? Anything can happen. I’m going to focus on today.”
Vrabel said April 22 that, following the emergence of the Arizona photos and the subsequent rumors about the nature of his relationship with Russini, he would miss part of the draft to enter counseling.
“As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend,” Vrabel announced at the time. “This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”
It is not entirely clear what treatment Vrabel sought out during his time away from the Patriots, nor if it is ongoing.
Since April, additional photos of Vrabel and Russini have been published, including one that appeared to show them kissing at a New York City tavern in March 2020 — months before the sports journalist married Goldschmidt.
In May, TMZ shared pictures of Vrabel and Russini — who was pregnant with her first child at the time — walking together on a dock before getting on a boat that they had reportedly privately rented for a few hours in Putnam County, Tennessee, in 2021.
Vrabel and his wife share two children: Tyler (offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons), 25, and Carter, 24. Russini shares two sons with Goldschmidt.