Rich Eisen and Suzy Shuster's Relationship: All About the Sportscasters' Decades-Long Romance (That Started at ESPN!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Suzy Shuster and Rich Eisen attend the 11th Annual NFL Honors at YouTube Theater on February 10, 2022 in Inglewood, California.Photo:Amy Sussman/Getty

Amy Sussman/Getty

Rich Eisen and Suzy Shuster have been married for over 20 years.

After meeting while working together on ESPN in 1997, the sportscasters went on to get married six years later in 2003. “Wewere friends first,” Eisen told PEOPLE in 2018. “And then it just clicked.”

“I was one of three women working close to him. So there weren’t a lot of options,” Shuster added, jokingly. The couple have since welcomed three children, and have taken three decades ofsportsjournalism experience into buildingThe Rich Eisen Showand Shuster’s podcast,What the Football.

“Is it hard to work with a spouse? Yes,” Shuster said. “But you have to work with somebody, and I know 100% that Rich is on my side and we work in each other’s best interest. We have the same agenda.”

Eisen concluded, “Our life together is really, really good. It’s a dream come true. We do what we love, and we get to do it together. What can get better than that?”

So how did the couple go from meeting at ESPN to building a sports media empire together? Here’s everything to know about Rich Eisen and Suzy Shuster’s relationship.

They both began their careers in the 1990s

Rich Eisen and his wife Suzy Schuster at Rich Eisen’s “Total Access” Book Release Party at the Sunset Tower Hotel on October 29, 2007 in West Hollywood, California.Jesse Grant/WireImage

Jesse Grant/WireImage

Eisen and Shuster both began their sports journalism careers in the ‘90s.

After working as a staff writer at theStaten Island AdvanceandChicago Tribunein the early ‘90s, Eisen pivoted into sports broadcasting and eventually joined ESPN in 1996. He was one of the network’s main anchors on their programSportsCenter, before leaving to join the NFL Network in 2003.

Meanwhile, Shuster similarly found her start in sports broadcasting at ESPN in 1997 where she worked as an associate producer for a year. She left the network in 1998 to work as a segment producer onHBO’sReal Sports With Bryant Gumbel, before working as a reporter for FanDuel Sports Network from 2000 to 2002.

While Eisen’s career at the NFL Network eventually evolved into the making of his own show in 2014, Shuster had a slew of reporter stints, including roles at ABC Sports and theHuffington Post, before joining her husband atThe Rich Eisen Showas a fill-in host and launching her own podcast,What the Football, in 2023.

Eisen and Shuster met while working at ESPN

Suzy Shuster and Rich Eisen attend the premiere of “Draft Day” at Regency Bruin Theatre on April 7, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Shuster and Eisen met during their time together at ESPN.

In a 2004 interview with theLos Angeles Times,Shuster recalled meeting her husband on Feb. 3, 1997, which was also her first day on the job.

“It took me that long to smarten up and quit dating jerks,” she added. Things in their relationship eventually took a turn in February 2000 when Eisen officially asked Shuster out on a date.

“He asked me to accompany him to the ESPY Awards in Las Vegas, not as a friend but as his date,” Shuster told theLos Angeles Times.

They married in 2003

Rich Eisen as Suzy Shuster on their wedding day on June 7, 2003.Rich Eisen/ Instagram

Rich Eisen/ Instagram

Two years after their Las Vegas date at the ESPY Awards, Eisen and Shuster got engaged on Valentine’s Day and married a year later on June 7, 2003, at the Boat House in Central Park.

On the couple’s 21st anniversary in 2024, Eisen celebrated the landmark occasion with a touching tribute.

“Happy 21st anniversary to my ❤️and soul,” hewrote on Instagramalong with a carousel of photos of him and Shuster over the years. “At least one of us hasn’t aged a day. Love you, Suze.”

Eisen and Shuster share three children

Rich Eisen’s wife Suzy Shuster and their children Xander, Taylor and Cooper.Rich Eisen/ Instagram

Eisen and Shuster have welcomed three children: sons Xander and Cooper and daughter Taylor.

Along with showcasing an interest in media, the couple’s children have also gotten involved in sports. Eisen shared ina 2022 episodeof his show that Taylor had joined a youth leaguebasketballteam and competed against NBA legendKevin Garnett’s daughter in her first-ever game.

The podcast host also regularly celebrates his children’s milestones on social media. In 2024, he posted a sweet tribute to his son Cooper after he turned 13 and had his Bar Mitzvah.

The sports broadcaster also posted a touching tribute for his daughter on National Daughter’s Day in 2021,writing on Instagram, “Thank the lord I’m a #GirlDad. Happy national daughters day to my wondrous Taylor."

He credits her with helping him createThe Rich Eisen Show

Karl Walter/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

“They offered to transfer the radio affiliates to me,” Eisen recalled to PEOPLE in 2023 on the potential next steps the show faced at the time. “But I knewI didn’t want it to endthis way.” Having grown up dreaming of being a late-night talk show host, Eisen then took matters into his own hands and decided to form a production company instead.

The Rich Eisen Showthen moved to Roku and YouTube with the sportscaster sharing that he felt “very, very lucky” to have ownership of it all.

The sportscaster also credited his wife with much of his success, and described her as “the greatest life partner anyone could have.”

She added that the “special sauce” to her husband’s show is “just enough antagonism” and “that Rich doesn’t take himself too seriously.”

Eisen and Shuster have launched several podcasts together

Suzy Shuster and Rich Eisen attend The 23rd annual Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on June 1, 2008 in Century City, CA.Alex Berliner/®Berliner Studio/BEImages

Alex Berliner/®Berliner Studio/BEImages

Along with working onThe Rich Eisen Show, the couple also briefly launched a joint podcast together in 2018 calledEyes on Sports with Suzy Shuster and Rich Eisen.

“We talk about it all,” Eisen said, describing the podcast to PEOPLE in 2018. “Our kids, sports, news of the day, pop culture. We have special guests; sometimes they’re athletes, other times, they’re Hollywood celebrities.”

After the podcast ended, Shuster went on to launch her own podcast,What the Football,in 2023 with Amy Trask, former owner of the Oakland Raiders.

Although Eisen may not be a host on Shuster’s podcast,What the Footballpublishes the video format of its episode onThe Rich Eisen Show’s YouTube channel.

source: people.com