When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was considering potential running mates for his presidential run, his shortlist was initially topped by two well-known men with unusual résumés: Aaron Rodgers, the N.F.L. quarterback and frequent purveyor of conspiracy theories, and Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota and professional wrestler known as “The Body.”

當小羅伯特·F·甘迺迪考慮競選總統的潛在競選夥伴時，他的最終候選名單上，最初有兩個履歷不凡的知名人士：美國國家橄欖球聯盟四分衛、經常發表陰謀論的亞倫·羅傑斯，以及前明尼蘇達州州長、人稱「筋肉人」的職業摔跤手傑西·文圖拉。

Instead, Mr. Kennedy made a surprise pick — a woman and a little-known figure with an unusual background: Nicole Shanahan.

結果甘迺迪出人意料地選擇了一位背景不同尋常、鮮為人知的女性：妮可·沙納漢。

Ms. Shanahan, 38, a onetime Silicon Valley lawyer, has never held public office and has scant name recognition. But she was selected after Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Ventura fell through as vice-presidential candidates and Mr. Kennedy’s campaign needed money to fund its efforts to get onto state ballots, three people familiar with the events said. And money was something that Ms. Shanahan could provide in abundance.

38歲的沙納漢曾是矽谷律師，從未擔任公職，知名度也很低。但據三位知情人士透露，她是在羅傑斯和文圖拉落選副總統候選人後，甘迺迪的競選團隊為進入州選舉而需要資金之時被選中的。資金是沙納漢可以大量提供的東西。

Ms. Shanahan has a fortune of more than $1 billion that stems largely from her divorce settlement last year with Sergey Brin, a founder of Google, whose net worth exceeds $145 billion, three people with knowledge of her finances said. During their five-year marriage, Ms. Shanahan partied with Silicon Valley’s elite and used recreational drugs including cocaine, ketamine and psychedelic mushrooms, according to eight people and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Ms. Shanahan and Mr. Brin separated after she had a sexual encounter with Elon Musk in 2021, three of the people said.

The incidents were part of a rarefied — and sometimes turbulent — life that Ms. Shanahan led in the nation’s tech capital before her turn to politics, according to interviews with more than 20 people who know her or were briefed on her actions, as well as property records, court documents, tax records, emails and other messages reviewed by The Times. Many of the details of her life, including those of her divorce settlement, have not been reported.

據對20多位認識沙納漢或了解她行為的人的採訪，以及時報查閱的財產記錄、法庭文件、稅務記錄、電子郵件和其他信息，沙納漢在美國科技之都紐約過著一種精緻但時有混亂的生活，這些事件只是其中的一部分。她的許多生活細節，包括她的離婚協議，都沒有被報導過。

“Status is very important to Nicole, and the amount of money you have,” said Daniel Morris, a photographer based in Puerto Rico who was friends with Ms. Shanahan and her first husband, Jeremy Kranz, a technology investor.

「地位對妮可來說非常重要，還有就是你有多少錢，」波多黎各的攝影師丹尼爾·莫裡斯說，他是沙納漢和她的第一任丈夫、科技投資者傑瑞米·克蘭茲的朋友。

On the campaign trail, Ms. Shanahan has depicted herself as a hardworking former entrepreneur and lawyer, a success story who once needed food stamps and a unifier who can heal a divided America. But she has omitted and embellished parts of her history, including aspects of her relationship with Mr. Brin, to make herself appear more relatable, according to the people who know her and documents reviewed by The Times.

在競選活動中，沙納漢把自己描繪成一個勤奮的前企業家和律師，一個曾經需要食品券的成功人士，一個能夠彌合分裂、團結美國的人。但據認識她的人以及時報查閱的文件稱，她省略並美化了自己的部分歷史，包括她與布林之間的一些事，以便讓自己顯得更有親和力。

In a February interview with The Times, Ms. Shanahan described herself as a onetime “Silicon Valley princess.” In response to questions for this article, she texted: “I’m shocked the NYT is letting you run something like this.” The Kennedy campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment. Ms. Shanahan has publicly denied having an affair with Mr. Musk.

在今年2月接受時報採訪時，沙納漢稱自己曾經是「矽谷公主」。在回答有關本文的問題時，她發短訊說：「我很震驚，《紐約時報》居然讓你們報導這樣的東西。」甘迺迪競選團隊沒有回覆記者的置評請求。沙納漢曾公開否認與馬斯克有染。

Mr. Musk, his lawyer and a spokeswoman for Mr. Brin did not return requests for comment.

馬斯克、他的律師和布林的發言人沒有回覆置評請求。

Mr. Kennedy, who is running as an independent, picked Ms. Shanahan without his advisers having looked fully into her history or where her money was coming from, two people familiar with the campaign said. By then, she had already become a crucial financier of his run.

兩位熟悉競選活動的人士說，以獨立候選人身份參選的甘迺迪選擇沙納漢時，他的顧問並沒有充分調查她的履歷或資金來源。當時，她已經成為他競選活動的重要資助者。

Ms. Shanahan, who has said she is a vaccine skeptic like Mr. Kennedy, funded a Super Bowl ad for Mr. Kennedy this year through a $4 million donation to a super PAC, American Values 2024. In March, she infused Mr. Kennedy’s campaign with an additional $2 million. Last week, she said she had given an additional $8 million.

Their ticket has secured a place on the presidential ballot in Michigan, a swing state, as well as in five other states. Mr. Kennedy has enough signatures to reach the ballot in seven additional states, his campaign has said, potentially putting him and Ms. Shanahan in a position to tip the November election.

這對搭檔在搖擺州密西根以及其他五個州的總統選舉中獲得了一席之地。甘迺迪的競選團隊表示，他已經獲得足夠的簽名，可以在另外七個州參加投票，這可能會讓他和沙納漢在11月的大選中有相當大的分量。

Ms. Shanahan is “exactly the right person,” Mr. Kennedy said when he announced her as his running mate in March. He called her a “fierce warrior mom” who “overcame every daunting obstacle and went on to achieve the highest levels of the American dream.”

沙納漢「是最合適的人選」，甘迺迪在今年3月宣布她為競選夥伴時說。他稱她為「勇猛善戰的母親」，她「克服了所有令人生畏的障礙，最終實現了美國夢的最高境界」。

A Yoga Festival

On the campaign trail, Ms. Shanahan, who grew up in Oakland, Calif., has said she knew what it was like to be “one misfortune away from disaster. ”

競選活動中，在加州奧克蘭長大的沙納漢曾表示，她知道「離災難只有一步之遙的不幸」是什麼感覺。

Her father, Shawn Shanahan, couldn’t hold down a job, was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia when she was 9 years old and died in 2014, she has said. Her family struggled, Ms. Shanahan has said, needing food stamps and government assistance.

她說，她的父親肖恩·沙納漢無法保住工作，在她九歲那年被診斷出患有雙相精神分裂症，並於2014年去世。沙納漢說，她的家庭生活困難，需要食品券和政府援助。

Ms. Shanahan obtained an athletic scholarship to attend Saint Mary’s College High School, a private Catholic school in Berkeley, Calif., according to the Kennedy campaign website. The school, which charges about $24,000 a year for tuition, confirmed that Ms. Shanahan had been a student but said it had never offered scholarships. Ms. Shanahan received some tuition assistance, the school said, but it declined to say how much.

甘迺迪競選團隊的網站顯示，沙納漢獲得了體育獎學金，就讀於加州柏克萊的私立天主教學校聖瑪麗學院高中。這間每年學費2.4萬美元的學校證實沙納漢曾是該校學生，但表示並未向她提供過獎學金。該校表示，沙納漢獲得了一些學費補助，但拒絕透露具體數額。

Ms. Shanahan graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2007, working at a Seattle law firm around the same time. She later worked at RPX, a patent firm, and in 2013, she founded ClearAccess IP, a patent tech company, according to her LinkedIn profile. She completed a law degree at the Santa Clara University School of Law in 2014.

2007年，沙納漢從普吉特海灣大學畢業，同期在西雅圖一家律師事務所工作。根據她在領英上的個人資料，她後來在專利公司RPX工作，並於2013年創立了專利技術公司ClearAccess IP。她於2014年在聖克拉拉大學法學院獲得法律學位。

Adam Philipp, the founder and managing partner of Aeon Law, the Seattle law firm where Ms. Shanahan worked, said he was impressed when she applied to be a paralegal in 2006. “She had a willingness to learn and an abundance of common sense,” he said.

亞當·菲利普是西雅圖Aeon法律事務所的創始人和執行合伙人，沙納漢曾在這家律所工作。他說，她在2006年申請成為律師助理時給他留下了深刻印象。「她有學習的意願和極強的常理判斷力，」他說。

In 2011, Ms. Shanahan began dating Mr. Kranz, a tech investor in San Francisco. She told people that she had converted to Judaism during that time for the relationship. Mr. Kranz bought a $2.7 million penthouse with views of San Francisco about a month before their wedding in August 2014, according to property records.

2011年，沙納漢開始與舊金山的科技投資者克蘭茨約會。她告訴人們，為了這段感情，她在那段時間皈依了猶太教。房產記錄顯示，克蘭茨在2014年8月婚禮前一個月左右，花270萬美元買下了一套可以俯瞰舊金山的頂層公寓。

That July, Ms. Shanahan met Mr. Brin at a yoga festival in Lake Tahoe, Calif., four people with knowledge of the events said. He had recently separated from Anne Wojcicki, his wife at the time. Mr. Brin and Ms. Shanahan embarked on an affair weeks before her wedding to Mr. Kranz, the people said.

四名知情人士說，那年7月，沙納漢在加州太浩湖的一個瑜伽節上遇到了布林。他剛剛與當時的妻子安·沃西基分居。知情人士說，布林和沙納漢在她與克蘭茨結婚前幾週開始了這段感情。

Mr. Kranz discovered the relationship several days after he married Ms. Shanahan when he saw texts between her and Mr. Brin on her phone, they said. He filed to annul the marriage 27 days after the wedding, court records show.

他們說，克蘭茨在與沙納漢結婚幾天後，看到她的手機上她與布林之間的短訊，從而發現了他們之間的關係。法庭記錄顯示，他在結婚27天後申請宣布婚姻無效。

Mr. Kranz planned to list fraud as a reason for the annulment, the people said. But Ms. Shanahan was concerned that a fraud claim would jeopardize her ability to practice law. While negotiating with Mr. Kranz about their split, she threatened to harm herself, three people said.

知情人士說，克蘭茨計劃將欺詐列為宣布婚姻無效的一個原因。但沙納漢擔心，欺詐指控會危及她從事法律工作的能力。三人說，在與克蘭茨就分手問題進行談判時，她威脅要自殘。

Instead of an annulment, Mr. Kranz agreed to a divorce without making a fraud claim. As part of their settlement, Ms. Shanahan was required to remove any evidence of Mr. Kranz from her social media accounts and pay him $20,000 in partial wedding costs and legal fees, court records show. Mr. Kranz did not respond to a request for comment.

克蘭茨沒有宣布婚姻無效，而是同意在不提出欺詐指控的情況下離婚。法庭記錄顯示，作為和解協議的一部分，沙納漢被要求從她的社群媒體帳戶中刪除一切跟克蘭茨有關的內容，並向他支付2萬美元的部分婚禮費用和律師費。克蘭茲沒有回應置評請求。

Becoming a Philanthropist

Mr. Brin became Ms. Shanahan’s entryway to the tech industry’s upper echelons. The couple traveled the world, took trips on Mr. Brin’s yachts and stayed in the most elite camps at Burning Man, the countercultural annual festival in the Nevada desert.

布林成為沙納漢進入科技行業高層的敲門磚。兩人環遊世界，乘坐布林的遊艇旅行，在內華達沙漠舉行的反主流文化年度節日「火人節」上住進最豪華的營地。

They married in 2018 and had a daughter, Echo, that same year. They owned properties in Lake Tahoe; Los Altos, Calif.; Montana; and Malibu, Calif., where Ms. Shanahan now spends much of her time.

他們於2018年結婚，並於同年生下了一個女兒埃可。他們在太浩湖、加州洛斯阿爾托斯、蒙大拿、以及加州的馬利布擁有房產，沙納漢現在大部分時間在馬利布生活。

In 2019, Ms. Shanahan began building a foundation, Bia-Echo, named for her daughter, that focuses on criminal justice and fertility longevity. (Ms. Shanahan has said she struggled to become pregnant.) She used more than $20 million from Mr. Brin for the effort, according to tax documents.

2019年，沙納漢建立了一個以女兒命名的基金會Bia-Echo，專注於刑事司法和生育力維持。（沙納漢說她曾苦於懷不上孩子。）稅務文件顯示，她將布林的2000多萬美元用於這項工作。

To raise her profile, Ms. Shanahan hired Matthew Hiltzik, a publicist who has worked with Katie Couric and other high-profile women. Her goal was to become a famous philanthropist like MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, four people familiar with Ms. Shanahan’s plans said.

為了提高自己的知名度，沙納漢聘請了曾與凱蒂·庫裡克和其他知名女性合作過的公關馬修·希爾茨克。四位了解沙納漢計劃的人士說，她的目標是成為像亞馬遜創始人傑夫·貝佐斯的前妻麥肯齊·史考特那樣的著名慈善家。

In 2020, Ms. Shanahan sold ClearAccess IP to IPwe, a patent technology firm, in exchange for IPwe stock that was valued at more than $10 million, two people familiar with the deal said. IPwe filed for bankruptcy this year.

據兩名知情人士透露，2020年，沙納漢將ClearAccess IP出售給專利技術公司IPwe，以換取IPwe價值超過1000萬美元的股票。IPwe於今年申請破產。

Around the time of the sale, Ms. Shanahan and Mr. Brin learned that Echo was autistic. Ms. Shanahan has said the diagnosis made her question the use of childhood vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says childhood vaccines are safe.

大約在出售前後，沙納漢和布林得知埃可患有自閉症。沙納漢表示，診斷結果讓她對兒童疫苗的使用產生了質疑。美國疾病控制與預防中心表示，兒童疫苗是安全的。

A Marriage Crumbles

Mr. Brin and Ms. Shanahan found the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns challenging, three people close to the couple said. Among other things, they struggled with their daughter’s autism diagnosis, the people said.

與布林夫婦關係密切的三位人士說，布林和沙納漢覺得新冠大流行時期的封鎖十分艱難。知情人士說他們遇到了很多問題，其中就包括女兒的自閉症。

Ms. Shanahan began going out more without Mr. Brin, according to five people and documents viewed by The Times. At a party in early 2021 in Miami, Ms. Shanahan was so intoxicated by drugs and alcohol that she required an IV infusion, the documents show.

據五名知情人士和時報看到的文件顯示，沙納漢開始更多地在不在布林陪伴下外出。文件顯示，2021年初在邁阿密舉行的一次派對上，沙納漢因吸毒和酗酒導致嚴重的中毒反應，需要靜脈輸液。

That fall, Ms. Shanahan threw a Studio 54-themed birthday party for herself at a New York club. Mr. Musk, a longtime friend of Mr. Brin’s, attended. In December 2021, Ms. Shanahan saw Mr. Musk again at a private party in Miami that his brother, Kimbal Musk, was hosting in connection with the Art Basel festival.

那年秋天，沙納漢在紐約一傢俱樂部為自己舉辦了一場以Studio 54為主題的生日派對。布林的老朋友馬斯克也出席了。2021年12月，沙納漢在邁阿密的一個私人派對上再次見到了馬斯克，那是他的兄弟金巴爾·馬斯克為巴塞爾藝術展舉辦的派對。

At that party, Elon Musk and Ms. Shanahan took ketamine, a popular party drug that is legal with a prescription, and disappeared together for several hours, according to four people briefed on the event and documents related to it. Ms. Shanahan later told Mr. Brin that she had had sex with Mr. Musk, three of the people said. She also relayed the details to friends, family and advisers.

據四名了解該事件和相關文件的人士透露，在那次派對上，伊隆·馬斯克和沙納漢服用了氯胺酮，這是一種很受歡迎的派對毒品，有處方就可以合法使用。兩人一起消失了幾個小時。其中三人說，沙納漢後來告訴布林，她與馬斯克發生了性關係。她還把將此事詳情告訴了朋友、家人和顧問。

Mr. Brin and Ms. Shanahan separated about two weeks after the party, and he filed for divorce the next year, citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to court documents.

據法庭文件顯示，布林和沙納漢在派對後大約兩週就分居了，第二年他提出離婚，理由是「不可調和的分歧」。

In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported Ms. Shanahan’s encounter with Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk and Ms. Shanahan have denied an affair.

In her interview with People last year, Ms. Shanahan said she and Mr. Musk had been talking about her daughter’s autism treatment that night. She also said it was humiliating to be known for a sexual act and called a cheater.

去年接受《人物》(People)採訪時，沙納漢說，那天晚上她和馬斯克一直在談論女兒的自閉症治療。她還表示，因性生活而為他人所知並被稱為騙子，這是一種恥辱。

Ms. Shanahan and Mr. Brin took nearly 18 months to reach a divorce settlement, according to court records. During that time, she threatened to harm herself, two people briefed on the matter said. Their divorce became final last year.

法庭記錄顯示，沙納漢和布林花了近18個月的時間才達成離婚協議。兩名知情人士說，在那段時間裡，她威脅要自殘。他們去年終於離婚了。

Into Politics

For years, Ms. Shanahan donated to Democrats, according to donor filings. In 2020, she gave $25,000 to a political action committee backing President Biden. Then last year, she gave $6,600 to Mr. Kennedy — the maximum allowed for an individual contributor — when he was running as a Democrat for the presidential nomination.

捐贈者文件顯示，沙納漢多年來一直向民主黨人捐款。2020年，她向支持拜登總統的政治行動委員會捐贈了2.5萬美元。去年，當甘迺迪作為民主黨總統候選人參加競選時，她向他捐贈了6600美元——這是個人捐款的最高限額。

In her February interview with The Times, Ms. Shanahan said she had initially been disappointed when Mr. Kennedy announced that he would run as an independent. But she began to pour money into his campaign, including the Super Bowl ad, which showed images of Mr. Kennedy superimposed on those of the 1960 presidential campaign of his uncle John F. Kennedy. At the time, Ms. Shanahan had spoken to Mr. Kennedy once and had never met him, she said.

在今年2月接受時報採訪時，沙納漢說，當甘迺迪宣布將以獨立候選人身份參選時，她最初感到失望。但她開始為甘迺迪的競選活動投入大量資金，包括在超級盃的廣告，廣告中，甘迺迪的照片與他的叔叔約翰·F·甘迺迪1960年競選總統時的照片疊加在一起。沙納漢說，當時她只和甘迺迪說過一次話，從未見過他。

In March, Ms. Shanahan and her new partner, Jacob Strumwasser, met Mr. Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines, for dinner. During the meal, Mr. Strumwasser, who has worked in the crypto industry, suggested Ms. Shanahan for the vice president’s job, she said in a podcast this month with Sage Steele, a former ESPN anchor. Mr. Kennedy liked Ms. Shanahan’s story, people familiar with the campaign said.

今年3月，沙納漢和她的新伴侶雅各布·斯特魯姆瓦塞爾與甘迺迪及其妻子謝麗爾·海因斯共進晚餐。本月，在前ESPN主播塞奇·斯蒂爾的播客節目中，她說，用餐期間，曾在加密貨幣行業工作過的斯特魯姆瓦塞爾建議由沙納漢擔任副總統。知情人士說，甘迺迪喜歡沙納漢的人生故事。

Ms. Shanahan began attending campaign events with Mr. Kennedy this month. At a fund-raiser in Nashville last week, she announced that she had given another $8 million to the campaign and said, “I think I know what they’re going to say — they’re going to say Bobby only picked me for my money.”

沙納漢本月開始與甘迺迪一起參加競選活動。上週在納什維爾舉行的一次募捐會上，她宣布自己又為競選活動捐了800萬美元，「我想我知道他們會說什麼——他們會說鮑比選我只是因為我的錢，」她說。

Her remark drew laughter from the crowd.

她的話令人群發出笑聲。