A book by an up and coming author sources say is an ex of Donna Savattere — who we exclusively reported gave birth to NFL great Dan Marino’s love child in 2005 — could shed light on how Marino spent millions to keep his affair and child with her a secret.
In a 2010 memoir, “Honeymoon Junkie: Everything but the Girl,” author Shaun C. Hawkins meets a woman he calls “Darien,” a former CBS staffer living in the lap of luxury with a small child fathered by a mysterious Mr. Big that the author ultimately theorizes is actually Marino. Sources say the woman in the book is Savattere.
“Darien lived on the Upper West Side . . . and she worked at CBS,” recalls the author after meeting “Darien” in the memoir about a high–flying bachelor looking for love in New York.
“I need to share something with you. I have a 1-year-old daughter named Zoë,” Darien tells the author after the two begin dating. (Savattere and Marino’s daughter is named Chloe.)
“She explained that she had dated Zoë’s dad, but . . . broken up after she became pregnant,” writes Hawkins. “She said it was complicated, and that she was taking a sabbatical from CBS.”
Later, “Darien . . . confessed to me that there was a substantial monetary settlement involved in keeping the identity of Zoë’s father a secret . . . I told her that I didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to have already figured out there was money involved. The East Hampton rental, the charming two-bedroom Upper West Side apartment one block off [Central Park], the Range Rover, the full-time nanny.” Hawkins also says “Darien” blew $50,000 on a birthday party for her 1-year-old.
He adds, of “Zoë’s” father: “Visitation with the baby always occurred in an undisclosed hotel room somewhere in Manhattan. Darien would get a call from one of his handlers with a time and a location, so he could spend some quality time with his daughter. “
Ultimately, the author puts clues together and writes, “I knew Zoë’s dad was Dan Marino.”
A rep for Savattere (now Donna Younis, after marrying Nahill Younis in 2009) and Hawkins did not return requests for comment.