During a newly published interview with People, Russini discussed having to deal with the rumors and accusations prior to her current sports media comeback attempt, which includes joining Stugotz on his Nobody’s Safe podcast and a weekly show with BetUS TV...

quote:
“The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking,” Russini told People. “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”

“The lies became so out of control,” Russini said. “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.”

“I would not wish that experience on any person ever,” Russini continued to People. “But through it, I did get an opportunity to not just learn about myself, but my family and our priorities, and maybe some decisions and things I was doing in my career, and putting it before what I really wanted most, which was to be a mom. And while it was so hard at first, feeling their love and support helped me believe that, ‘Wait, I know I can go back to doing this. I know that they’re settled. I know that we’re a unit, and no one is going to come between us. Nothing’s going to break us.’”

“Now that I’ve been in the center of this attention and understanding that this wasn’t just something that shook me, it affected my 94-year-old grandmother, my cousins, family members I haven’t even spoken to in years,” Russini explained. “It just had a really lasting effect, and I don’t necessarily know if I ever really thought about that as much as I should.”

“I really hope that I can be someone other women see: you can pick yourself up, get back in there and not be afraid,” she told People. “Because if you just do the work — and I hope to continue working at a high level — that’s all that’s going to matter. And I hope that quiets the noise.”