Exclusive

What Does Whitney Houston Have to Do With Matt Lauer's Marriage Scandal?

Find out what the Grammy winner has to do with tabloid allegations that the Today host and his wife of 12 years have called it quits

By Marc Malkin May 14, 2010 1:54 AMTags
Alexis Houston, Whitney HoustonRichard Young/startraksphoto.com; Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for IMG

As if Matt Lauer and his wife Annette didn't have enough to deal with right now, they suddenly find that Whitney Houston has been thrown into the middle of their private life drama.

Just hours before the couple shot down a tabloid story alleging that they'd split, a report hit the web that romantically linked the Today host with Alexis Houston, a singer who has reportedly claimed to be Whitney's half-sister.

Sure sounded fishy to us—especially after hearing from Whitney's rep...

"Alexis Houston has no relation to Whitney in any way, shape or form," the rep told E! News.

Gossip website Hollyscoop alleges that Lauer met Alexis Houston several years ago when she accompanied Whitney's real-life relative Dionne Warwick to the morning show. And the site goes on to claim that Lauer reached out to Alexis as recently as the Winter Olympics, saying she was apparently at the sporting event to sing in place of Whitney who reportedly ditched the gig.

Houston, we have another problem with this story.

"Whitney was never scheduled to perform at the Winter Olympics," her rep said.

As for Alexis, her rep has strongly denied any involvement with Lauer, telling one website, "Ms. Houston has never had any sort of relationship with Mr. Lauer and does not even recall meeting him."

A post on Twitter page @alexishouston also reads, "Our official statement is that the allegations regarding Ms. Houston are totally false."

—Additional reporting by Whitney English

Follow @marcmalkin on Twitter!
________

This year's been busy when it comes to celebrity drama, but we'll see if it can top last year. Check out our Best of 2009: Juiciest Scandals photo gallery.