Matt Lauer's Alleged Jumpoff Used to Be a Man

When the National Enquirer broke the news a few weeks ago that Today show co-host Matt Lauer walked out on his wife of 12 years, Annette, and was jumping off with two women, including Whitney Houston's cousin (more on that later) named Alexis Houston (pictured), we were like whateves!

Well. Well. Well.

The New York Post has delved into Alexis' past, pulled out a flashlight and found that she used to be a he and he used to call himself Wellington Houston. (Which reminds us: Remember when Wendy was looking for a name with more stature and was flirting with the idea of Wendy Wellington? Them were the days!)

Alexis Houston — the singer who held a press conference last week to announce she never had sex with “Today” show host Matt Lauer — had some interesting yesterdays. She used to be a man who called himself Wellington Houston.

Whitney Houston sued Wellington (whose original name was Stuart) in 1996 because he was claiming to be her cousin. Whitney alleged that Wellington used the false relationship to defraud an elderly New York doctor of $100,000 using credit cards and forged checks, the AP reported at the time.

Wellington resurfaced in 2001 with a demo CD titled “All’s Well.” The Daily Record in Glasgow, Scotland, gushed: “Whitney Houston’s pop crown is under threat — from her own cousin. Wellington Houston, 23, is being hailed as the next big thing in the US. But although Whitney sings on his demo CD, Wellington doesn’t want to cash in on his famous family. He said, ‘All I want from my family are good wishes.’”

According to one source who has known the singer for years, Wellington had sex-change surgery three years ago after a man fell in love with the cross-dressing singer and paid for the operation.

“She told me they got married in Niagara Falls,” said our source, “but they have since separated.”

Alexis’ Web site said she started singing in the choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark when she was 6.

The scurrilous Web site Hollyscoop.com claimed May 13 that Lauer had an affair with Alexis after meeting her on the “Today” show set in 2007.

Last Friday, Alexis held a press conference outside Michael’s on West 55th Street with headline-hogging lawyer Gloria Allred. Speaking with a Madonna-like British accent, Alexis said, “I feel that my privacy and personal space has been invaded.”

Neither Alexis nor Allred would comment yesterday. Michael J. Griffith, a lawyer Alexis has known for years, also refused to comment on Alexis’ past.

Drama! How You Doin' Stuart/Wellingtion/Alexis! Wait, we just got an idea: We're gonna start calling ourselves Stuart Wellington Alexis Houston II. Summon the British dialect coach at once!



Update: The Enquirer is reporting in its current edition that Matt's first wife, Nancy, is a writing a juicy, scandalous tell-all and she confirms that Matt was a cheater.



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