Former Miami Dolphins great Dan Marino reportedly fathered a love child with a CBS assistant in 2005, then paid the woman to keep the story quiet.
Sources told the New York Post’s Page Six that the Hall of Fame quarterback had an affair with Donna Savattere, who was 35 and an assistant as CBS’ Manhattan studios in 2005. Their daughter, Chloe, was born in June that year.
“They had an affair, and she had a baby,” one source said. “Everything was on the down-low and secretive.”
According to The Miami Herald, Marino later sent a statement to the Post confirming the news and calling it a “private matter.”
“This is a personal and private matter,” he wrote. “I take full responsibility both personally and financially for my actions now as I did then. We mutually agreed to keep our arrangement private to protect all parties involved.”
Marino and his wife, Claire, have six children and he says that they have stayed together despite the affair. Wednesday was their 28th anniversary.
“My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years and have six children together,” he wrote. “And we continue to be a strong and loving family.”
Savattere relocated to Texas as part of their agreement, but she now also spends time in the Hamptons and has married Nahill Younis.
Marino, who has cultivated a clean image prior to this news, has been at CBS since 2003. He will be joining the team for the network’s Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday starting at 2 p.m.