Ousted CNN President Jeff Zucker's relationship with his subordinate Allison Gollust was such an 'open secret' that even d...
Ousted CNN President Jeff Zucker's relationship with his subordinate Allison Gollust was such an 'open secret' that even doormen at the building where they both had apartments tried to ensure that Zucker's wife and Gollust were never in the elevator together.
Zucker resigned from his $6 million-a-year job at the network on Wednesday, following an internal investigation into his relationship with Gollust, who works as CNN's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Gollust later confirmed the affair in a statement Wednesday released to the New York Times, saying she will continue to work at the network.
'Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,' she wrote. 'Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time.'
But media sources have said the affair was an 'open secret' for more than 10 years - and even the doormen at their Manhattan apartment building tried to keep Allison and Zucker's wife, Caryn, from interacting.
'Zucker would disappear for hours on end, but Caryn initially had no idea that the woman she was being polite to in the elevator was sleeping with her husband,' an unnamed source told the New York Post.
They added: 'Everyone in the building knew about it -even the doormen tried to ensure Caryn wasn't in the elevator at the same time as Allison.'
Ousted CNN President Jeff Zucker's (left) relationship with Allison Gollust, the network's executive vice president and chief marketing officer was an 'open secret' many network insiders claim. They are pictured here in May 2016 with Tom Brokaw
The two lived in the same apartment building on the Upper East Side with their respective families, and one unnamed source said the doormen at the building would try to ensure Gollust was not in the elevator with Zucker's wife, Caryn
Zucker and Gollust lived in the same apartment building on the Upper East Side with their respective families until Jeff sold his in 2020, after he and his ex-wife Caryn Nathanson split.
The building is located at on the corner of Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York. He resided in apartment 3W, while Allison lived in the unit right above him - number 4W - which she still owns.
In her memoir, Going There, Katie Couric later claimed that their 'cozy arrangement' was 'super strange' and made her 'really uncomfortable.'
She said in her book: '[Allison] and her husband and kids had moved into the apartment right above Jeff and [his wife] Caryn's - everyone who heard about their cozy arrangement thought it was super strange.
'By that point, Caryn had become a close friend and it made me really uncomfortable.'
Allison's apartment has two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, while Jeff's contained five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. He sold it for $15.4 million.
Both of them also own Hampton houses within 20 minutes from one another.
According to public sales records, Jeff's home hasn't been put up for sale since he purchased it in 1999 - however it's not known whether he or his wife took ownership of it in the divorce. Records also show that Allison still owners her Hampton home.
'The contention that Zucker's romantic relationship with Gollust "evolved" during the COVID pandemic is absurd,' an unnamed source told the Post.
'They carried out the affair for years while the two occupied separate apartments at 32 E. 64th Street.
'Zucker would get on the elevator and visit Gollust when the coast was clear.
'They didn't even have to leave their building it was a perfect cover.'
Their affair reportedly stretches back to when they both worked at NBC in the late 1990s. Zucker worked at the network from 1986 to 2010, becoming executive producer of the Today show, then head of NBC Entertainment before becoming president and CEO of NBC Universal.
He met Caryn while they were both working at NBC, when he was the executive producer of the Today Show and she was working at Saturday Night Live. The two were married in 1996, and have four kids.
Gollust, meanwhile, started at NBC in 1996 when she was working as a publicist for Today. She eventually became executive vice president of corporate communications at the network, working directly with Zucker.
In 2012, Gollust was picked by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve as his communications director, before Zucker brought her into work at CNN, where he became president in 2013.
She was married to William Hult, and they had two daughters. According to RadarOnline, they broke up 12 months after Jeff and Caryn finalized their divorced. Before they split, they welcomed two daughters together named Olivia and Ava.
An insider told DailyMail.com on Wednesday: 'It was part of the reason for his divorce, but not the only reason. It was inevitable that it would come out – he should have been up front sooner.'
The pair would often take vacations together, went apartment hunting and would sneak into each other's hotel rooms for alleged 'meetings,' according to the Post.
Jeff Zucker was married to Caryn Nathanson, second from left, in 1996, after they met while working together at NBC, and Allison Gollust was married to William Hult, with whom she shares two daughters. Both couples are now divorced, and sources say Zucker's affair with Gollust was one of the main reasons
Zucker lived in apartment 3W at 32 E. 64th Street, while Allison lived in the unit right above him - number 4W - which she still owns.
The two also own Hampton houses within 20 minutes from one another
Many have also pointed out that the pair were often seen out in public together - even as Gollust continued to deny they were in a relationship and would brand comments tot he contrary as 'sexist' and 'offensive.'
In 2017, Zucker and Gollust were also seen in a heated argument at the Hollywood Reporter's 35 Most Powerful People in NY Media party.
A source explained at the time that while the party was taking place, Zucker and Gollust suddenly started intensely speaking and making anguished hand gestures before Gollust stormed away into the crowd.
'It looked like she was reprimanding her husband or something,' mocked an unnamed rival news executive at the time.
Gollust had also reportedly joined Zucker on a trip to Israel in 2017, when they had dinner with Andrew Cuomo and Melissa De Rosa, and in 2019, they were spotted apartment hunting together - although Gollust claimed at the time she was 'helping' her boss find a new place.'
And after they had an intimate diner with Sandra Lee in 2018, Gollust told Page Six: 'I was not there "with" Jeff ... I was invited on my own as was he.
'I assume you aren't suggesting otherwise.'
But in 2018, Jeff and Caryn confirmed they were divorcing, saying in a statement: 'Together we have made the difficult decision to separate, but do so as friends committed to our kids. They remain our sole focus.'
Insiders say the announcement came after Zucker cruelly revealed the affair to his wife of 21 years over Rosh Hashanah dinner.
'The story goes that Jeff told his wife "I am not in love with you, I am in love with Allison."
Zucker and Gollust were seen in public at the Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden on November 5, 2021 with Don Lemon (right) and Fareed Zakaria (bottom left). Picture courtesy of fee.org
The revelations about Zucker's relationship with Gollust came to light after former anchor Chris Cuomo, right, was fired from his position for helping his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, deal with the sexual assault allegations against him. Zucker is pictured with his ex-wife Caryn and Chris Cuomo in March 2014
Zucker and Gollust's relationship finally came to light after former anchor Chris Cuomo was fired from his position after he helped his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, deal with the sexual assault allegations against him.
Chris Cuomo blew the whistle on Zucker's years-long, open-secret affair with Gollust while fighting for his $18million severance pay, according unnamed media sources, after Zucker argued that Cuomo cannot claim the payout because his conduct - in advising his brother - brought the network into disrepute.
That same argument, of violating company policy, could now see Zucker miss out on his own payout, which would likely be worth many millions.
Zucker now admits to lying about when the romance began during the investigation into whether or not Chris Cuomo, formerly the network's most successful host, helped his brother through his sexual harassment scandal.
'I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong.
'As a result, I am resigning today,' he said.
According to an internal email, Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz will take over as interim bosses, with Bass heading up the new leadership team.
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