Dianna Russini’s big comeback hits humiliating snag as live show fails to air: ‘How the mighty have fallen’

See more of our coverage in your search results. Dianna Russini’s big return to TV ran into a disastrous hurdle when the debut of her new BetUS show, “The Russini Report,” was delayed by more than 10 minutes. The embattled sports reporter was meant to make her highly anticipated return Wednesday morning, months after her bombshell scandal with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel derailed her career at the New York Times-owned Athletic. The show was meant to premiere at 12 p.m. ET, but by 12:15 p.m., it still had not aired. Dianna Russini’s return to the big screen was delayed on Wednesday, as the BetUS website crashed. ustadium/Instagram It’s her first major appearance since she quit The Athletic. By 12:30 p.m. ET, the show had not aired. ustadium/Instagram Production sources exclusively tell Page Six that the delay was due to an overwhelming number of viewers, adding that BetUS was “working on adding capacity, as it’s the record number of views on their site.” BetUS later confirmed that when they tweeted, “Well… you broke it. 😅 The premiere of The Russini Report drew a record-breaking audience today! We’re adding more seats so everyone gets in. Stay with us! We’ll be back shortly. 🙏.” On X, many users vented their frustration, complaining that the link did not work. “Doesn’t work. Oh how the mighty have fallen,” one X user wrote. Another seconded, “What a launch lol.” “Probably wasn’t even more than a thousand people and the server crashed,” someone else typed. Her return to mainstream media comes just months after she sensationally quit her job at the New York Times’ Athletic after it was revealed that her relationship with Vrabel was under investigation. Russini and Vrabel are still married to their respective partners, as they are seen here at the Ambiente Sedona hotel in Sedona, Arizona, in March. © Page Six The two were spotted spending time together at an Arizona hotel by Page Six. Russini was supposed to make her big return to the big screen on Wednesday, but was inundated by delays. © Page SIx In April, Page Six published exclusive photos of the two — who are still married to their respective partners — spending time together at the Ambiente hotel in Sedona, Arizona. The two were spotted having breakfast together, as well as holding hands and hugging. Page Six also obtained photos of Russini and Vrabel kissing at New York City’s Tribeca Tavern in March 2020. Page Six also obtained photos of the two of them kissing at Tribeca Tavern in 2020, above. © Page Six The pictures sparked a frenzy in the NFL world, as Russini immediately left her role as the Athletic’s Senior NFL Insider, while Vrabel was absent from Day 3 of the NFL Draft to seek counseling. The Athletic later concluded that the two shared an inappropriate relationship, and “was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards.” “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” Mike Semel, the outlet’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality, wrote at the time. The two caused a media firestorm this year after rumors of an affair circled . The two are pictured here in 2020. Dianna Russini/Instagram Meanwhile, Russini has been married to Shake Shack exec Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020, while Vrabel has been married to wife Jen since 1999. They have both denied allegations of having an affair. Ahead of her new show’s premiere, Russini finally broke her silence as she sat down for an interview with People published Monday, claiming that the “lies” surrounding her relationship with Vrabel “became so out of control.” Russini and Vrabel have denied any allegations of an affair, and are still married to their partners. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! “This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal. It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with,” she said. The former ESPN reporter shared that the beginning of the controversy was a “nightmare” and described the last six months post-scandal as “heartbreaking.” She sensationally made a return to X on Tuesday, where she proved that she still had reporting chops after she shared info about Kirk Cousins’ trade between the Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders. An investigation by the Athletic concluded that she and Vrabel had an inappropriate relationship. ustadium/Instagram Vrabel entered counseling after the scandal, as she is seen interviewing him above in 2019. Dianna Russini/Instagram Reporter Dianna Russini returned to X on Tuesday after deleting her account. Dianna Russini/Instagram The trade was confirmed just moments after she posted the insider info. Her return to the social media platform faced brutal mockery by some X users, as they took jabs at her in the replies. “Back like nothing happened huh? It’s over, nobody watching the show,” one X user wrote. 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