Mike Vrabel and his wife Jen put up a united front while celebrating their son’s engagement following his scandal with NFL coach Deanna Russini.
The New England Patriots head coach and Jen were all smiles as they posed for a family shot with son Tyler and fiancée Mariah Romano, via an Instagram photo the engaged couple shared on Sunday.
Romano captioned the post: “The most perfect engagement, surrounded by the people I love the most.”
Mike and Jen, 50, who married in 1999, were on separate sides of the couple, joined by their youngest son Carter.
The pair’s appearance comes after photos surfaced of Mike getting cozy with Russini, 43, while attending a 24-hour emergency marriage summit in April. The summit took place during the NFL Draft, as Vrabel previously announced he would miss the third day of the NBA Draft to receive counseling.
At the time, the two had flown to Park City, Utah, and were seen dining at a Park City hotel, where they appeared to be “friendly and talkative” but “not overly flirtatious,” a source told Page Six.
Earlier that month, Mike found himself embroiled in a scandal when Page Six published photos of him and Russini holding hands and hugging at the Ambiente Resort in Sedona, Arizona.
They were also spotted playing in the pool together, but the two denied being alone and insisted they were with friends.
Russini, who is married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, said she was at the resort with two friends on a hiking trip, while Mike said he drove to a hotel with a friend to hang out with reporters and reporters.
Vrabel initially told Page Six about the hotel photos: “These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable and deserves no further response.”
And Russini said, “The photo does not represent a group of six people hanging out during the day. Like most NFL journalists, the reporter is interacting with sources away from the stadium and other venues.”
But then, Vrabel told reporters at a pre-NFL Draft press conference, “I take responsibility for my actions and the actions that distracted the people I care about most: my family, this football team, our organization, and our fans.”
The team supported him, saying, “The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to put his family first, not just his own well-being.”
As for Russini, he resigned from his position at The Athletic, but said in a letter: “I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand by every article I have ever published.”
The scandal continued to unfold beyond the first Arizona photo. In mid-April, additional photos of Mike and Russini kissing at Tribeca Tavern in New York City in 2020 were leaked.
“They were kissing and crazy about each other,” a source told Us.
The drama continued to escalate in 2021, when photos of Mike and Russini aboard a private boat in Putnam County, Tennessee, were released.
At the time, the journalist was pregnant with her first child, Michael, with Goldschmidt, whom she married in 2020.
However, Russini and Goldschmidt appeared to be on good terms since the scandal, as they were spotted kissing on Mother’s Day in May.
