Red Flags In Mayor Eric Adams & Tracey Collins' Relationship We Just Can't Ignore

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Eric Adams, the 110th mayor of New York City, is often at the center of controversy. Most notably, he stirred things up with his indictment scandal, but seldom is attention drawn to his relationship with his girlfriend, Tracey Collins. Those who have read all about Collins by now already know that she and Adams tend to keep their romantic lives private. Naturally, when the public doesn't know much about Adams' personal life, it's easy to say that this union with Collins could be the most uncontroversial part of it. 

However, that assessment is challenged by Chalkbeat, who disclosed in November 2024 that Collins retired from her role within New York's Education Department, which she was promoted to after Adams became the mayor. The New York Post reported in September of that year that she went as far as to "no-show" for work, supposedly having been absent for about ten months. Looking at the controversy behind Collins' promotion, retirement, and how her boyfriend is centered around it all, it would appear that there are some serious red flags in Collins' relationship worth addressing.

On January 1, 2022, Adams officially stepped into the mayoral role. According to The New York Post, Collins had been an administrator for the Department of Education since 2008 at the time of Adams' induction. Overnight, Adams became her boss on a technicality. That fact isn't the only thing to raise eyebrows. 

According to Chalkbeat, Tracey Collins received an about $50,000 raise with a promotion shortly following Eric Adams becoming mayor. While Collins' 30 years of educational experience in various positions in and out of classrooms gives her credibility, the professional boost that she received seemingly from her boyfriend's promotion and the reports that she rarely showed up to work raises questions as to if she earned her more recent accolades.

Worse, this isn't the first time that Adams has been romantically linked to another NYC official. Per Spectrum News, Jasmine Ray detailed her 2014 to 2016 friendship-turned-relationship with Adams in her 2025 memoir, "Political Humanity." Although they had split by the time he became mayor, he reportedly gave her a job when he did. Not dissimilar to Collins, according to the New York Daily News, Ray enjoyed a significant salary boost. She reportedly received two separate six-figure salaries: one from her job in the mayor's office, which she resigned from in September 2025, and one while still working a side job at a daycare center.

Adams having a relationship with someone who works under him, whose power was elevated during his reign as mayor, raises red flags by itself. When considering that Adams has a checkered past with women who work under him and arguably benefited from that same promotion to power, those same red flags ring off like crimson alarm bells. The subject is certainly one of divisive public debate, but it's a debate where neither party is placed in a positive light, especially following Collins' retirement and ensuing investigation.