Gawker Outs Fox Anchor Shepard Smith as Gay

The apparent boyfriend has ties to Penn State and Temple.

Now we know why Shepard Smith’s the only Fox News anchor we could ever stand! Following a mini-outing earlier this week, Gawker has a big piece up that delves deep into what its calling a romantic relationship between the 49-year-old Smith and 26-year-old Giovani Graziano, a producer at Fox Business.

While the merits of such an outing are dubious–though the fact that he works for a generally homophobic media giant makes Shepard’s sexuality more salient than it otherwise would–the report is out there now. So here’s what we know about Graziano. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2008, and did a study abroad program in Rome through Temple that same year.

Here’s some more from Gawker about the two:

Indeed, away from Fox, Smith and Graziano appeared together throughout Manhattan, showing up at fratty bars like the Ainsworth in Chelsea and the Village Pourhouse on 3rd Avenue, to watch football when Penn State or Ole Miss (Smith’s alma mater) were playing.

Still, Smith was concerned about the optics of dating a subordinate. Last year, according to former Fox News employee, the anchor arranged for Graziano’s transfer, in October 2012, to Fox Business Network, where he was installed as an associate producer for Varney & Co. “Shep had to move him to Fox Business to avoid a ‘conflict of interest,’” the former employee, who asked not be named, explained.

That said, who knows how much can trust inside Fox “sources” anymore. Anyways, here’s the young fella’s LinkedIn (plus photo!) if you’re interested in hiring a TV producer–you know, in case Fox decides to purge their reportedly gay employees now.