Matt Lauer Desperately Denies Affair With Natalie Morales

Matt Lauer and Natalie Morales have finally been forced to address talk of an affair — in the wake of Gretchen Carlson filing a sexual harassment suit against FOX News. The National ENQUIRER had the scoop when Matt's jealous wife Natalie put her foot down over the two's lovey-dovey relationship.

Natalie (pictured) was soon packing up to leave for Los Angeles and work with "Access Hollywood." Gretchen's explosive lawsuit against FOX News now has Matt sweating it out over talk about his many relationships that reportedly started on the set!

Sources told The ENQUIRER that Matt's wife, Annette Roque, was behind the move to Los Angeles — with her being “insanely jealous” of Natalie for years! “Annette has been on Matt’s case for ages, [wanting him] to use his influence to pull some strings to get Nat off the show,” an informant dished. “She’s heard all the rumors and read the stories about them hooking up, and it’s been a festering wound in their marriage!"

As The ENQUIRER previously reported, Annette filed for divorce in 2006 while pregnant with the couple’s third child — amid rumors Matt got involved with Natalie while both were covering the Winter Olympics in Italy. Annette withdrew the paperwork a month later.

But rumors of an affair persisted, especially when Natalie announced in 2008 she was expecting her second baby. “There was unbelievable talk that Matt could be the father of the baby,” and not her husband, Joe Rhodes, a snitch whispered to The ENQUIRER in 2010. At the time, Joe told The ENQUIRER he had “no comment.” But pressed to refute the allegations, he did not deny the outrageous rumors.

Matt's speaking out again about the rumors now, saying: "Every aspect of this story is untrue, and it’s frankly sad that someone would tell lies to harm everyone involved." Natalie has also jumped into the controversy, declaring: "There is absolutely no truth to this completely absurd story. It is damaging, hurtful and extremely sexist."

But the new denials might be fueled by Matt's panic over Gretchen's lawsuit against FOX boss Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. The notorious womanizer has good reason to stress that he hasn't used the "Today Show" set as a place to meet women! Sources already told The ENQUIRER in 2013 that Matt risked some major feminist wrath after chasing a 20-year-old college coed who was regularly appearing on "Today!"

Insiders said that Matt became "obsessed" with Lucie Fink (facing, far left) — whose career as a "lifestyle host" began when she was a Johns Hopkins university student. He reportedly kept sending her flirty texts and even whisked her away to a swanky New York City hotel for lunch — all apparently behind the back of Annette!

Lucie had made several appearances on "Today" to discuss social issues, and was frequently interviewd by Matt. Meanwhile, the hottie appeared in an issue of "Cosmo" magazine wearing a sexy bikini — and boasted on her website that she wanted "to be famous." She also used her site to gush about Matt, according to the source who saw her post: "Just ate lunch alone with Matt Lauer at the Four Seasons Hotel's restaurant in NYC. He is so nice...my new mentor :)"

A friend of Lucie's, however, told The ENQUIRER that the aspiring celeb was "blind and innocent" — adding: "She thinks Matt just wants to be her mentor. He wants to bed her. And Lucie is clearly flattered by the attention, making a point to note that Matt took her 'alone' to lunch."

Lucie also shared flirty texts that sources confirm the younger woman believed came from Matt. One of them advised her not to wear skimpy denim "Daisy Duke" shorts on the show. "You can argue that is really not appropriate behavior from a married man who's supposed to be mentoring a young girl — or in good taste!" a source said. "it's apparent Matt's thinking about her wearing sexy clothing."

The insider added that Matt's roving eye had become a problem for network brass: "Ann [Curry] initially tried to exact revenge [for being fired] by telling 'Today' bosses that Matt was a snake with a wandering eye," said the source. "She told them what she knew of the rumors about Matt and Natalie, as well as those of his flirtatious relationship with a former blonde intern who worked for the show ... Matt's already on thin ice!"