Inside Shepard Smith's Doting Relationship With Boyfriend Gio
Shepard Smith once captured millions of viewers' attention while anchoring Fox News Channel's evening coverage on "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith" and "Shepard Smith Reporting." Smith's perfect TV face and captivating presence during his tenure at the network — before stepping down from his top anchor spot in 2019 — made fans of his segments intrigued about his personal life. From the journalist's point of view, however, he didn't understand the fixation on what he did off-camera. Nonetheless, in 2018, he gave Time magazine a glimpse into his private life, telling them about his relationship with his partner, Giovanni Graziano.
Smith told the outlet that he's "not hiding anything" when he opts out of sharing personal details on television. "I have a longtime boyfriend and we're as happy as we can be and we live a very normal life and go to dinner and go to games and see his family and see my family," he revealed of his relationship with Graziano. "It's great for us. But I can't imagine anyone else finding it interesting."
According to his LinkedIn, Graziano served as a general production assistant at Fox News starting in 2009. He eventually was put on "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith" in 2011 and worked there as a production assistant until 2012. He climbed the ladder to an associate producer position on the Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co." where he worked until 2013.
Shepard Smith doesn't think his private relationship is worth publicity
Though he had been dogged by rumors and reports of his sexuality, Shepard Smith never made his romance with Giovanni Graziano a big deal. The former Fox anchor spoke out about his sexual orientation in 2017 during a talk at the University of Mississippi — his alma mater. "I don't think about it. It's not a thing," Smith said (via YouTube). He described his love life with as much enthusiasm as his work day, saying, "I go to work. I manage a lot of people. I cover the news. I deal with holy hell around me. I go home to the man I'm in love with." He also recalled a time when he felt he was lying to himself because he thought being gay was "antithetical to all that is okay. A. you're going to hell for it. B. you'll never have any friends again. What are you gonna tell your family?" Now that Smith is in a happy relationship with Graziano, his previous nightmare has become a dream reality.
His sexuality has been a hot topic in the media, especially after Gawker published a report in 2014 claiming that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes refused to allow Smith to publicly come out as gay. In a 2016 interview with The Huffington Post, however, Smith said that Ailes never made his sexuality a factor in his career. According to Smith, Ailes — who left Fox News in 2016 after sexual harassment allegations came out against him and reportedly made homophobic remarks about others in the industry — was always respectful to him. "He gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day," the former news host said. "It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place." He eventually left the network himself when he reportedly felt Fox News was spreading too much misinformation.