Mike Vrabel was spotted buying a gift — apparently for his wife — in Utah just days after Page Six published cozy photos of him and sports reporter Dianna Russini at a bar in 2020.
As seen in new pics exclusively obtained by Page Six, the New England Patriots head coach bought the present, believed to be for Jen Vrabel, at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Saturday.
Mike, who was still wearing his wedding ring, browsed a store called Hip & Humble and landed on a baby blue sweatsuit.
The former NFL linebacker — who shared in a 2025 interview with the Athletic that he and Jen own a home in Park City, Utah, where they like to ski and celebrate the holidays — was snapped examining the loungewear before making the purchase.
We’re told Mike looked at the matching set for a brief moment before yanking the items off the rack and speed-walking to the register to check out.
He was dressed down in light jeans, a blue puffer vest and a matching undershirt, accessorizing with a baseball cap, black travel backpack and Nike sneakers.
Jen was not photographed with Mike and it’s unclear whether the married couple reunited at any point during his trip.
The ex-athlete resurfaced after dramatically announcing that he would be a no-show for Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft — one of the biggest events for the sport — to seek counsel on how to be the “best version” of himself after the Russini scandal came to light.
He remained with the team and appeared for the NFL Draft on Thursday and Friday before leaving Boston and jetting off to Salt Lake City. By Monday, Mike was back at the office, according to NBC Sports.
Mike’s purchase for Jen comes on the heels of Page Six publishing a new series of photos of the coach cozying up to Russini at a New York City bar, six years before the photo scandal that rocked the NFL.
At the time, an eyewitness spotted the two holding hands and being affectionate at Tribeca Tavern.
“They were kissing and they were all over each other,” the source told Page Six. “He had a ring on.”
At the time, Mike was already married to Jen while Russini said “I do” to her now-husband, Shake Shack exec Kevin Goldschmidt, just six months later. They each have two kids with their respective partners.
The encounter occurred when Mike was working as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, while the sportscaster was working as an NFL reporter for ESPN, extensively covering the team.
After Page Six published the images, Mike told ESPN that he would be missing Day 3 of the NFL Draft to seek 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,” he said in part. “In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend. 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.”
The Patriots told Page Six in a statement that they supported his decision.
“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being. Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment,” the organization said.
“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and [football executive] Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”
Russini, 43, and Mike, 50, were seen at the Manhattan bar six years before Page Six obtained photos of the pair holding hands at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.
The now-viral photos captured the two at the Ambiente on March 28, where they enjoyed breakfast and were seen hanging out by the pool and hot tub. They were also spotted enjoying a private rooftop that is only accessible from one of the two-person bungalows, which cost up to $2,160 a night.
While multiple eyewitnesses told Page Six that they were not joined by anyone, Mike and Russini both insisted that they were with friends that were simply not pictured in the snaps.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Mike said in a statement to Page Six at the time. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Russini told Page Six in her own statement, “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists, in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
After the photos went public, the Athletic initiated an investigation into the situation and the journalist announced her resignation on April 14.
“This media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process the Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept,” Russini said in the statement.
Mike, for his part, spoke publicly about the scandal last week — sharing in a press conference ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft that he wanted to speak to his team before addressing the public.
“I understand I could have addressed you sooner, but it was important to me I have a conversation with the players, which I did yesterday very candidly as we began our off-season program, which everyone is excited to be a part of,” he said.
Mike also noted that he had “some difficult conversations with people,” including his “family, the organization, the coaches [and] the players.” He called the talks “positive” and productive.
“We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me. That starts with me,” he continued. “We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction. There’s comments and questions that I’ve answered for the team and with the team. [We] will keep those private and to ourselves.”
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