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Ryan Lizza, Olivia Nuzzi’s former fiancé, alleged in a November 2025 post that Nuzzi had an affair with Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor and 2019 Republican presidential candidate. The allegation has not been independently established in the reporting reviewed. Sanford’s presidential campaign ended in November 2019; Lizza said he discovered the alleged relationship in March 2020.
What Ryan Lizza alleged
In a November 17, 2025, Substack post titled “Part 1: How I Found Out,” Lizza described finding a partially written love letter from Nuzzi to a politician who had been both a source and the subject of her New York magazine profile. Lizza identified the politician as Mark Sanford.
As summarized by The Daily Beast, Lizza alleged that Nuzzi became infatuated with Sanford after interviewing him, sent him increasingly risqué messages and photographs, followed his campaign trail, and later met him in South Carolina. These details are Lizza’s account, not independently verified findings.
Why the “2020 candidate” wording needs context
Sanford ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2019, not during the 2020 election year. He suspended his campaign in November 2019. Lizza placed his discovery of the alleged relationship in March 2020, after Sanford’s campaign had ended.
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Nuzzi had publicly posted in September 2019 that she had spent time in South Carolina with Sanford for New York magazine; The Daily Beast reproduced that post in its report. Reporting on her work with Sanford establishes that she profiled him during his campaign, but it does not establish Lizza’s allegation.
What the reporting confirms—and what it does not
The reports establish that Lizza made the allegation and named Sanford. They do not independently establish that an affair occurred. The State’s November 22, 2025, article also attributed the claim to Lizza and discussed reaction to it; social-media responses are not corroboration.
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The Daily Beast said it had sought comment from Nuzzi and Sanford. When The State published its report, it said Sanford could not be reached. Those are publication-time descriptions, not a complete record of any later responses. The reviewed reporting does not establish a later direct response from either person to this specific allegation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep the allegation separate from the 2024 Kennedy controversy
The Sanford allegation concerns Lizza’s account of events he said he discovered in March 2020. It is distinct from the 2024 controversy involving Nuzzi and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; the people and time periods differ. Reporting about one episode does not verify the other.
Nuzzi’s memoir American Canto was also part of the November 2025 news cycle, but the book is not independent verification of Lizza’s allegation about Sanford.
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