‘What Happened With Matt Held Me Hostage’: Former ‘Today’ Employee Details Affair With Matt Lauer
Former Today employee, Addie Zinone, details her relationship with Matt Lauer. Even though their monthlong affair was consensual, Zinone said that it happened while Lauer was already married to his wife, Annette Roque.
Zinone, who now goes by the surname Collins, said that Lauer made sexual advances at her in 2000 while she was working as a production assistant for Today.
"What happened with Matt held me hostage. I was under his spell. It was all-consuming. I couldn't focus. I couldn't concentrate," said Zinone.
Addie Zinone Opens Up About Matt Lauer Affair
The sexual advances happened after Lauer allegedly invited Zinone to his dressing room above studio 1A. During the afternoons, no one was in the area.
Lauer and Zinone met a couple of times in the same location thereafter. At that time, Zinone was only 24 and Lauer was already in his 40s.
During another incident, Lauer asked Zinone to go into his office and he shut the door by pressing a button from his desk. Lauer's secretary was outside his office so Zinone assumed she knew what was going on between them.
"He wanted to do stuff. I was like, 'No. I'm so in over my head. I'm not a performance artist,'" said Zinone.
How It Ends
Meanwhile, the alleged affair ended after she was asked by a National Enquirer staff if something was going on between them. She said that they were just friends.
When Zinone told Lauer about what happened, the host asked her if she told anyone about their affair. Zinone told Lauer that she didn't tell anyone, and he ghosted her from then on.
Toward the end of her tell-all, Zinone stressed the fact that what happened between her and Lauer was consensual. However, it had similarities with the complaints of the other women that accused Lauer of sexual misconduct and assault. She said that Lauer abused his power because he knew that he was in position.
"The things that Matt Lauer did to me, there are men doing to other women. Although it wasn't a crime in my case, it's still not right. Matt took advantage of his power. It's sickening. It breaks my heart that he did this for so long," concluded Zinone.
Matt Lauer Apologizes To His Alleged Victims
Meanwhile, Lauer has not responded to Zinone's claims, but the host previously released a statement addressing the other complaints thrown at him.
The host apologized for his actions and said that he realized the depth of the damage and disappointment he has left on the women he allegedly victimized, his wife, and NBC.
