Shiba Russell has kept a fairly tight lid on her private life. She never talked about her former husband or boyfriend. There are no details as whether she married her daughter’s father or whether the child was out of wedlock. It is said that her work timing is very strict and she was not able to take up many of her opportunities. She would be called back to work at night, when she clearly has to be at home with her daughter. This clearly indicates that she does not have a smooth relationship with her daughter’s father, to leave her with him on her busy nights. When she does not have enough time for her daughter, talking about dating would be a luxurious option for her. As of today, there are no sources that have even the slightest hint that she is dating someone. She did not tag anyone as her lover, nor did she talk about her interest in falling in love and starting a new family with a marriage. She was also not seen with anyone on a date. Her colleagues confirm that they never saw a man picking her up from work.
When it comes to her marital status, all that we know is that she is single. There are no answers to any of these questions. No one has announced that Shira was his wife. Though she is surrounded by a lot of rumors and gossips, there are no stories that connect her with any affair in and out of work.
There was a cartoon in the NY post showing a peacock (WNBC logo) smoking as it walked out of a room where Shiba was naked on bed. Sue Simmons (The one who was replaced by Shiba) was begging the peacock for her job back. Does this mean Shiba is having a relationship with her employer to keep her job? Some sources say that the WNBC is screwing her with heavy workload. The New York Post commented that the picture indicates the controversies of WNBC’s action to deny the renewal of Sue Simmons. The Post did not mention what type of controversies, the cartoon tries to explain.
Shiba Russell, Sue Simmons and the main personnel of WNBC, did not take this cartoon as a big issue to worry about. Shiba Russell did not comment on the questions that arose from that cartoon. Sue Simmons was also not available to express her comment on the cartoon about her work life.
However, as they say, what goes around must come back for sure. Since Sibila Vargas arrived at Channel 4 in 2013, Russell’s days were numbered as she was supplanted to night time co-anchoring alongside Chunk Scarborough. Vargas coming had triggered speculations of Shiba Russell leaving WNBC, even before her actual arrival.
Unfortunately, the Russell and Scarborough chemistry never worked as earlier expected. The pairing could not be compared even to the slightest point to Chunk and Sue’s 32-year “marriage.” Actually, after some months, Vargas, who had initially sat for the evening newscast with Scarborough, replaced Russell. Russell, however, did click with David Ushery and Tom Llamas. After working at WNBC for five years, Shiba Russell left the newsroom.
Return to the previous page
