Elon Musk denies affair with Google co-founder Sergey Brin's wife

Elon Musk is shooting down a report alleging he had an affair with his friend Sergey Brin's wife, leading the Google co-founder to file for divorce.
A report from The Wall Street Journal said the Tesla CEO had a "brief affair" last fall with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The report said this alleged affair ended Musk and Brin's long friendship and resulted in Brin filing for divorce. "At the time of the alleged liaison" in early December 2021, Brin and his wife were separated but living together, the Journal said.
Musk denied the report on Twitter, calling it "total bs."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!" Musk tweeted. "I've only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic."
In a follow-up tweet, Musk added, "Haven't even had sex in ages (sigh)."
The Journal said that after the alleged affair, Musk "dropped to one knee" in front of Brin, apologized, and begged for forgiveness at a party. But Brin is reportedly no longer regularly speaking with him and has told his financial advisers to sell his personal investments in Musk's companies.
Musk at the time of the alleged affair had reportedly already broken up with Grimes, with whom he welcomed a second child via a surrogate last December. In March, Insider also revealed Musk secretly had twins with a top executive at his company Neuralink in November 2021.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published