Emily Smith

Emily Smith

Celebrity News
exclusive

Elizabeth Vargas’ husband ‘had affair when she was in rehab’

Elizabeth Vargas’ husband, Marc Cohn, had an affair with Flywheel co-founder Ruth Zukerman while the ABC anchor was in rehab, multiple sources exclusively tell Page Six.

The sources claim that songwriter Cohn — who wrote “Walking in Memphis” and has been married to Vargas since 2002 — was seen with the divorced spin guru during and after Vargas was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction.

Vargas sought treatment in rehab last fall and returned to the air on “20/20” in January. Prior to that, Vargas and Cohn were both friends with Zukerman after becoming regulars at her Flywheel spin classes.

One source told us, “Marc made out he was an angel, standing by his wife while she was in rehab. But meanwhile, he started an affair with a mutual friend, Ruth Zukerman.”

The source said the affair came to light when they dined together at a restaurant near Flywheel’s Flatiron studio, just after Vargas left rehab. “A mutual friend spotted Ruth with Marc and called Elizabeth,” the insider said. A second source added, “It was disgusting that he was with Ruth while Elizabeth was in rehab.”

Marc Cohn and Elizabeth Vargas at an event in NYC.

Vargas, who has two sons with Cohn, ages 7 and 10, was not available for comment. An ABC rep declined to comment. Reps for Zukerman and Cohn didn’t get back to us.

But a mutual friend insists that Cohn and Zukerman are “just friends” and only had one dinner together after Cohn and Vargas “separated” after the anchor left rehab.

“Ruth is friends with the both of them,” said the source. “Elizabeth and Marc are separated. Both are legitimately entitled to have dinner with a friend. Ruth and Marc don’t have an ongoing relationship. They had one dinner together. There is no affair.”

But Cohn and Vargas are still currently living together and are not officially separated.

A different source close to Cohn said, “This isn’t a case of a husband wronging a wife while she struggled with her personal problems. Their marriage has struggled for a long while, but he has been a supportive husband and a loyal dad.”