Vrabel and Russini Rented a Boat While She Was Pregnant

TMZ obtained signed waivers showing Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini rented a private boat together in June 2021 in Tennessee.
Russini was pregnant with her first child at the time — she gave birth to a son named Michael two months later in August 2021.
The pair were reportedly the only people on board for the two-to-three-hour rental and were cautious about being photographed.
The boat trip is the latest in a growing timeline of documented encounters between the two, dating back to 2020.
Vrabel’s future with the New England Patriots remains uncertain as new details continue to emerge.

The Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini story just got another layer — and this one lands differently than the rest.

TMZ obtained documents showing that Vrabel and Russini rented a private boat together in June 2021 in Putnam County, Tennessee — just two months before Russini gave birth to her first child. Both signed the company waiver before heading out on the water, and a source with direct knowledge of the trip told TMZ they were the only two people on board for the two-to-three-hour rental.

The timing is hard to ignore. Russini, who married her husband Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020, welcomed their son Michael in August of that same summer. Vrabel, at the time, was still head coach of the Tennessee Titans — and has been married to his wife Jen since 1999.

According to TMZ, the two were visibly careful about leaving a photographic trail. Russini declined to take any photos with the boat rental staff at all. Vrabel agreed to one picture — but asked that it not be posted publicly.

A week after the boat trip, Russini posted a photo to Instagram that appeared to show her husband Kevin on a New Jersey beach, captioned: “Lucky to have great people to spend this holiday with this July.”

How We Got Here

It’s been four weeks since Page Six first published photos of Vrabel and Russini at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona in March 2026 — the image that lit the fuse on all of this. Both initially denied any wrongdoing. Vrabel told Page Six the photos “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” while Russini said they “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”

Then more photos came. Images of the two kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020 — when Vrabel was still with the Titans — were published by Page Six on April 23. An eyewitness told the outlet, “They were kissing and they were all over each other. Vrabel had a ring on.” Photos from a Mississippi casino in January 2024 surfaced shortly after. And now, the boat rental documents from the summer Russini was pregnant.

The picture being drawn, piece by piece, is of a relationship that stretched across years — not a fleeting moment caught at an Arizona resort.

Where Things Stand Now

The fallout has been swift and significant for both of them. Russini was placed on leave by The Athletic after the Arizona photos broke, then resigned from her position as senior NFL insider on April 14, posting a statement on X before going quiet entirely. Her X account has since been deactivated and her Instagram made private. She hasn’t spoken publicly since.

Vrabel, meanwhile, missed the third day of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling, telling reporters afterward: “I’ve had some difficult conversations with people I care about — with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players. What I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody, our fans, most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward.”

He and Jen Vrabel traveled to their home in Park City, Utah for what was described as an emergency marriage summit. And in a sign that his standing with the team hasn’t completely collapsed, Vrabel received a standing ovation at a recent Patriots season ticket-holder event. Players including quarterback Drake Maye have publicly voiced their support.

Russini’s former ESPN colleague Jon “Stugotz” Weiner has kept a door open for her professionally. “I did say if The Athletic fired her, I would hire her,” he said on his “Stugotz and Company” podcast. “They didn’t fire her. She stepped down from The Athletic, and the offer holds forever.”

Sources close to the situation told the Daily Mail that the emotional weight of this for Russini goes beyond the career fallout. “On top of that, her marriage has taken a serious hit, and she’s also dealing with the loss of Mike, who she genuinely loved,” an insider said. Neither Kevin Goldschmidt nor Jen Vrabel are said to have immediate plans to file for divorce.

The question now hanging over everything — and over Vrabel’s future on the Patriots sideline — is what else is still out there. And whether Russini will eventually decide to tell her own story.