Former 'Today' Staffer Addie Zinone Details Affair with Matt Lauer & Reveals Why She Kept It Secret for 17 Years

Addie Zinone is coming forward about a sexual relationship she had with Matt Lauer while they both worked at NBC back in June of 2000.

It all started with a message she received from Lauer when she was working as a 24-year-old production assistant. The message read, “OK…NOW YOU’RE KILLING ME…YOU LOOK GREAT TODAY! A BIT TOUGH TO CONCENTRATE.”

About their first sexual encounter, she said, “I realize that sounds very naive and silly of me because I walked over there to do that. But in that moment, I didn’t have anybody to share my fears and confusion with except for him, because what am I going to say to people?”

Addie continued, “I know who I am at my core, I know the values I have, but of course you carry shame,” she continued. “Because again, he has a wife. Even now, I don’t want to pour salt on these wounds, and that’s a really scary thing. You do carry that your whole life….I want to guide the conversation away from that, own my part in it, but then also talk about this power dynamic in a workplace and how that balance really does affect your thinking, your ability to think logically, to be aware of what you’re doing and the impact it’s going to have the rest of your life. And also, if you do find yourself in the situation like I did, how can we empower young women in the future who find themselves in that situation to get themselves back, to make better decisions – to not make a mistake like I did.”

“He did it so effortlessly with me that I thought for sure that there had to be other women, but I didn’t know there would be other colleagues because I thought if he continued that behavior and what he did with me, there would have to be other people coming forward,” she said. “In 17 years, we would have heard about that, right? I did feel very alone and isolated and unsure of what to do with this, and just carried it because who wants to be that person?” Addie concluded.

Matt was fired from the Today show following allegations of sexual misconduct.