'I SURVIVED A GLOBAL SHAMING'

One year after being accused of an affair with Tesla's Elon Musk at the end of her marriage to Google's Sergey Brin, attorney and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan is finally telling her own story and setting the record straight

- NICK MASLOW

The furniture had just arrived, and boxes were still packed in the Silicon Valley, Calif., house Nicole Shanahan was trying to turn into a home for herself and her daughter after her 2021 split from husband Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, when scandal hit.

Suddenly the world believed that Shanahan a 37-year-old attorney and philanthropist-had had a tryst with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, 52, leading to Brin, 49, filing for divorce. While many pointed out that the backlash against her had a sexist slant, online trolls called her a "gold digger" and made vulgar comments about her. (Shanahan and Musk both denied the affair; WSJ told People, "We stand by our reporting.") "My career has been based on academic and intellectual credibility, and I was being shamed internationally for being a cheater," says Shanahan. "To be known because of a sexual act is one of the most humiliating things... it was utterly debilitating."

But now, a year after the whirlwind, Shanahan sits near her new garden and shares an email her attorney sent minutes ago: "You're officially divorced!" It's the end to a 17-month legal process with Brin, during which she survived a "wave of chaos"-and found a new love. "It's been a long journey," she says. "Today is a turning point of letting go. I'm happy I've arrived at a point where I can reflect on my story."