Jake Duke, Grace Fitzgibbon split: What Tiffany Salmond is saying about the couple’s break-up that was triggered by her late-night phone call – as she deletes cryptic Instagram post

EXCLUSIVE

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

Duke was dumped by his girlfriend of three years this weekend after receiving an unexpected phone call from Kiwi rugby reporter Tiffany Salmond in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Salmond, 26, has told friends she did not know Duke had a girlfriend when she called him.

That’s because Fitzgibbon was rarely seen on Duke’s personal Instagram, friends said.

In an apparent attempt to limit the damage, Salmond is said to have deleted an Instagram post of himself in a bikini with a cryptic caption referring to infidelity.

Grace Fitzgibbon (right) is left ‘devastated and heartbroken’ after 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 deleted after Ny Breaking Australia published a story about the collapse of Duke and Fitzgibbon’s relationship on Tuesday.

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

The reporter later — briefly — posted a photo on social media of her belongings packed into cardboard boxes after a blazing argument with Duke.

She then left Duke’s unit in Freshwater, on the city’s northern beaches.

New photos have emerged of Salmond and Duke working together for Fox Sports at an NRL match in Auckland, where Salmond lives, last September.

Duke regularly travels to New Zealand 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 photos 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 visited Sydney last week and shared photos from her trip, including shots of herself on the Sydney Harbor Bridge and dining at Woolloomooloo Wharf.

“I have a background in journalism, reporting and production with a passion for sports broadcasting and rugby league,” her LinkedIn profile reads.

Fitzgibbon and Duke’s breakup comes just days after the couple adopted a kitten named ‘Muffin’.