Matt Lauer’s rumored mistress used to be a dude

Matt Lauer has denied ever having an affair with singer Alexis Houston. Alexis even held a press conference last week to confirm that. Well, Matt needs to modify his statement because Alexis Houston used to be Wellington Houston and in 1996, his original name was Stuart.

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.

“How many others have you fooled?!,” Matt asked before running to the bathroom and slamming the door shut to muffle his loud sobs.