Dan Power, Lifetime NetworksThe stars of Northern Lights are not fusing together.
So says Eddie Cibrian, who costars with LeAnn Rimes in the upcoming Lifetime movie and who awoke Wednesday to find himself the subject of a scintillating Us Weekly cover alleging an extramarital affair between the two.
"Other than being friends and two actors who were romantically intertwined in a movie-for-television we filmed last fall, there is no truth to the reporting initiated by Us Magazine," the 35-year-old married father of two said in a statement obtained by E! News.
"It is a fabricated story that is using random snapshots as connective tissue to create a scandalous relationship."
Cibrian's denial follows Rimes' morning post to her website, in which the country-pop songbird lamented this "difficult time" in her life.
"I would like to assure all of you that this is a place for you to hear things directly from me and as you all know, not everything in our lives is always black and white," she wrote.
But while Cibrian has dismissed the pictures published in Us of what are said to be Rimes and Cibrian on a date, an employee from Mosun in Laguna Beach, Calif., tells E! News that on the night in question, the two were "quite clearly on a date."
"They came in holding hands, and they left holding hands," the source said. "It was not a 'friendly' situation."
The pair also remained affectionate as they dined on sushi and sashimi, added our eyewitness, who also noted that both stuck to water and didn't drink any alcohol.
"They were kissing over the table, holding each other's hands across the table, kissing each other's hands, touching each other's faces," the source said.
There's also surveillance video of the duo eating dinner, and "there's no question of who it was," the source concluded.
Rimes has been married to Dean Sheremet since 2002, while Cibrian has been husband to model Brandi Glanville since 2001. They have two sons together, Mason, 5, and Jake, who will be 2 next month.
—Additional reporting by Whitney English