Matt Lauer has come forward to slam rumors that he had an affair with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, which in turn contributed to her recent divorce.
Laurentiis, 44, a chef on Food Network, recently split with husband Todd Thompson after 11 years of marriage.
“There is no truth to that story,” Lauer told TMZ about him and Lauer allegedly being involved.
“From the horse’s mouth we have been friends for 10 years and more importantly I feel bad for what she has been going through.”
Lauer, 57, is married to Annette Roque. The Dutch former model, his second wife, has bore him three children.
Laurentiis, who has one child with Thompson, separated with the fashion designer in July but they only announced their split recently.
De Laurentiis also denied the rumored affair with Lauer, as well as a rumored affair with fellow chef Bobby Flay.
“My long-time friendships with my co-workers Matt Lauer and Bobby Flay are exactly that — long-time friendships,” she told Gossip Cop. “There has never been a romantic relationship with these two men.”
Star magazine claimed that the chef has “close relationships” with Lauer and Flay that may have turned sexual, and that they’ve tried blackmailing her over cheating allegations.
She previously denied claims that she was involved with musician John Mayer.
She told Redbook magazine at the time that she was with her husband when she allegedly had the “steamy hookup” with Mayer, as reported by Star magazine.
“I was shocked. And not so much for me, but for my husband and family. My family is used to that sort of thing. But my husband’s family is not,” she said. “Todd was embarrassed that his family in Michigan would see it and think, What is going on over there in Hollywood?”
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