EXCLUSIVE 

The woman at the centre of a high-profile media couple’s sudden split has told friends she had no idea Fox Sports ‘golden boy’ Jake Duke was in a relationship with Seven News reporter Grace Fitzgibbon.

Duke was dumped by his girlfriend of three years over the weekend after he received an unexpected phone call from Kiwi rugby sideline reporter Tiffany Salmond in the ‘wee hours’ of Saturday morning.

Salmond, 26, has told mates she was unaware Duke had a girlfriend when she rang him.

That’s because Fitzgibbon rarely featured 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) has been left ‘devastated and heartbroken’ in the wake of her split from Jake Duke (left)

The image showed Salmond in a bikini overlooking the ocean and was captioned ‘Stay with your gf, 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 deleted after Daily Mail Australia published a story about the collapse of Duke and Fitzgibbon’s relationship on Tuesday. 

We exclusively revealed Fitzgibbon, 31, had been ‘devastated and heartbroken’ when her boyfriend of three years received the call from Salmond. 

The reporter later – briefly – posted a picture on social media of her possessions packed away in cardboard boxes following a blazing row with Duke.

She then moved out of Duke’s unit at Freshwater, on the city’s northern beaches. 

New photos have surfaced 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 for his TV presenting commitments. 

Ms Salmond caught the attention of Fox Sports ‘golden boy’ Jake Duke

Salmond, who likes to post scantily clad bikini shots on social media, has told friends she didn’t know Duke had a girlfriend

Jake is pictured with ‘Muffin’, the kitten he adopted with Fitzgibbon

Salmond last week visited Sydney, sharing images of her trip, including pictures of herself at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and dining at Woolloomooloo Wharf.

‘I have a background in journalism, reporting and producing with a passion for sports broadcasting and rugby league,’ her LinkedIn profile states.

Fitzgibbon and Duke’s break-up comes just days after the pair adopted a kitten named ‘Muffin’.