EXCLUSIVE
The woman at the center of a high-profile media couple’s sudden split told friends she had no idea Fox Sports ‘golden boy’ Jake Duke was in a relationship with the Seven reporter News Grace Fitzgibbon.
Duke was dumped by his girlfriend of three years over the weekend after receiving an unexpected phone call from New Zealand rugby reporter Tiffany Salmond in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Salmond, 26, told colleagues he didn’t know Duke had a girlfriend when he called him.
That’s because Fitzgibbon rarely appeared on Duke’s personal Instagram, friends said.
In an apparent attempt at damage control, Salmond is understood to have deleted an Instagram post of herself in a bikini with a cryptic caption referencing infidelity.
This cryptic Instagram post was removed from Tiffany Salmond’s Instagram account on Tuesday after Daily Mail Australia contacted her for comment.
Grace Fitzgibbon (right) left ‘devastated and heartbroken’ following her split from Jake Duke (left)
The image showed Salmond in a bikini overlooking the ocean and was captioned “Stay with your girlfriend, I’m not that bored.”
This was a reference to Ariana Grande’s 2019 song ‘break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored’.
The post was later deleted by Daily Mail Australia. published a story about the collapse of Duke and Fitzgibbon’s relationship on Tuesday.
We exclusively revealed Fitzgibbon, 31, was left “devastated and heartbroken” when her boyfriend of three years received the call from Salmond.
The journalist later briefly posted a photo on social media of her belongings stored in cardboard boxes after a heated fight with Duke.
He then moved from Duke’s unit in Freshwater, on the city’s northern beaches.
New photos have emerged of Salmond and Duke working together for Fox Sports last September while covering an NRL game in Auckland, where Salmond lives.
Duke travels to New Zealand regularly to fulfill his television presenting commitments.
Ms Salmond caught the attention of Fox Sports ‘golden boy’ Jake Duke
Salmond, who likes to post scantily clad bikini photos on social media, has told friends she didn’t know Duke had a girlfriend.
Jake appears in the photo with ‘Muffin’, the kitten he adopted with Fitzgibbon
Salmond visited Sydney last week and shared images from her trip, including photos of her on the Sydney Harbor Bridge and dining at Woolloomooloo Wharf.
“I have a background in journalism, reporting and production, and am passionate about sports broadcasting and rugby league,” his LinkedIn profile states.
Fitzgibbon and Duke’s breakup comes just days after the couple adopted a kitten named ‘Muffin.’