A Spanish news anchor was caught out by eagle-eyed viewers when they spotted a semi-naked woman, believed not be his 'Big Brother'...
A Spanish news anchor was caught out by eagle-eyed viewers when they spotted a semi-naked woman, believed not be his 'Big Brother' star girlfriend, walking behind him while he was live on air.
Alfonso Merlos, 41, was hosting on the Estado de Alarma channel live on YouTube from his home, but was oblivious to what was going on behind him until a national scandal broke out soon after.
Viewers were quick to note that the woman who passed behind did not look like his girlfriend, and discovered that she was in fact a fellow 27-year-old journalist, named Alexia Rivas.
The broadcast was not just scandalous due to the involvement of some famous Spanish TV personalities, but also because Rivas' presence suggested the pair had broken Spain's strict coronavirus social distancing measures to have their fling.
The incident led to accusations of Merlos cheating on his Big Brother star girlfriend Marta López, but he has since insisted that he and López were not together when he was caught out.
After remaining silent on the incident for a number of days amid a storm of media interest and accusations, he has since spoken publicly and appeared to apologise to his ex-girlfriend while appearing on the 'The Ana Rosa show', a Spanish chat show.
'If you think that my attitude has not been correct or that there are things that I have not done well,' he said. 'I have no problem asking for forgiveness, although my goal was not to harm someone else.'
Alfonso Merlos, pictured, was hosting on the Estado de Alarma channel from his home when viewers spotted a semi-naked woman walking behind him, and has been accused of cheating
Rivas, the woman spotted behind him, has since added that she has been seeing the anchor for a few weeks, and that he said he was single when they started seeing each other.
'I didn't get into a relationship, he told me he was single. We have been [seeing each other] three weeks,' she told Socialité.
However, in a further twist to the drama, Marta López has said that as far as she was concerned, she was still with Merlos at the time, and has called the situation 'shameful'.
The woman turned out to be fellow journalist called Alexia Rivas, and not who viewers believed was Merlos' girlfriend at the time
According to Spanish news outlet Lecturas, Merlos and López had fallen out over an ex-boyfriend of hers, causing them to spend four days apart, during which the broadcast occurred.
'I had been mad at Alfonso for four days. He didn't want me to do something that affected my family. I did it, and he got mad. We argue,' she told the outlet.
A call from López's ex, whom she shares a son with, reportedly sparked the argument that led to the pair separating for four days.
López claims that she and Merlos had been together in coronavirus lockdown since March 12, two days before the country implemented some of the world's toughest containment measures, and had spent the first half of the lockdown together until their argument.
Marta López, Spanish Big Brother star (pictured) was thought to be Merlos' girlfriend, and so the appearance of Rivas behind him was a surprise to many viewers
Spain is now beginning to relax some of its coronavirus lock down measures, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez saying that each region would begin to reopen at its own pace.
People in the country have been banned from going outside for anything other than the essentials since March 14, and while the country is easing its lock down, the broadcast suggests Merlos and his apparent fling with Rivas broke the restrictions.
Spain has been one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus, with over 235,000 confirmed cases and over 24,000 deaths.
Merlos has insisted that he and López, pictured together in November 2019, have split up and were not together when the incident occurred. She denies this, saying they were still together
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