FALSE RUMOR ALERT: Mike Tomlin Did NOT Quit Over an Affair… And Those “Common Knowledge” Claims Are Flat-Out Lies
Social media is doing what it does best right now — spreading a story that is not only false, but damaging.
For the past day, Twitter and other platforms have been flooded with claims that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin supposedly left his job after being caught cheating with a “young blonde woman.” Some users are even saying it was “common knowledge.”
Media Take Out checked.
And here is the truth: none of it is real.
We spoke directly with multiple people who know Mike personally and who are deeply connected to the Steelers organization. Not one of them had ever heard this rumor before it started trending online. Not one of them believes it is true.
In fact, we were told the opposite.
Mike left the Steelers for football reasons and to spend more time with his family. Period. There was no scandal. No secret relationship. No forced exit. Just a professional decision and a personal one.
So where did this story come from?
Twitter.
That is it.
People online began circulating photos of a woman and labeling her as a “mistress.” From there, the story took on a life of its own. But the woman being dragged into this did absolutely nothing wrong, and there is zero evidence tying her to any kind of relationship with Mike.
This is not “tea.” This is reckless.
And the idea that it was “common knowledge”? That claim completely falls apart when you actually talk to people who know Mike, work with him, and have been inside the organization for years. Every single person we contacted said the same thing: they had never heard anything like this and do not believe it for a second.
Mike Tomlin has long been known as a devoted husband and family man. He has been married to his wife Kiya Tomlin for nearly 30 years, and together they have built a strong, stable family with three children. Their marriage has never been surrounded by scandal, and those closest to them describe their relationship as solid.
These rumors are not just insulting to Mike.
They are disrespectful to his wife.
They are harmful to his children.
And they are unfair to the woman being falsely labeled online.
Kiya Tomlin, in particular, deserves better than to have her marriage dragged into a fake narrative. She is an accomplished fashion designer and entrepreneur, running a growing brand that includes licensed NFL apparel. Mike has consistently and publicly praised her work and supported her business.
This is a family that has spent decades navigating the pressures of professional sports without drama.
And now, because social media needed something to gossip about, they are being targeted by a story that is simply not true.
Let us be clear, one last time:
Mike Tomlin did not leave the Steelers because of an affair.
He left for football reasons and to spend time with his family.
No one close to him has ever heard these rumors.
And no one who knows him believes them.
Twitter can call it “common knowledge” all it wants.
But in the real world — where facts, relationships, and truth actually matter — this story does not exist.
Sometimes the loudest narrative online is also the most fake.