Gay people with connections to Alison Mau are remaining tight-lipped about today's Herald on Sunday front pager that claims veteran TV presenter Alison Mau is "understood" to be in a relationship with another woman.

TVNZ star Alison Mau

Rumours have circulated in media circles for some weeks that Mau was about to reveal she is in a same sex relationship, possibly through a women's magazine. However, the newspaper story appears to have been written without Mau's input.

Anne Speir, a past TVNZ editor, says she can't and won't speculate on Mau's sexuality and finds the paper's coverage despicable. "A quarter of a century ago Marilyn Waring was outed on the front page of Truth newspaper, clearly nothing has changed, and that deeply saddens me," she says. "Alison is at an age when a lot of lesbians come out but if she is in a relationship with a woman does she, and that woman too, need to be outed like this?"

The Herald full page story includes a paparazzi-style photo of the woman said to be Mau's new love.

Event manager and Queen of the Whole Universe pageant creator Jonathan Smith says he will not comment "out of respect for her privacy". Mau was for two years involved with the Queen of the Whole Universe HIV fundraiser. "It's inappropriate for me to talk about this, given that I have a personal and working relationship with Alison", he said this evening. Smith also expressed unease at the newspaper's decision to run the story which was written by its resident 'gossip queen.'

Two other glbt people who have had an association with Mau echoed those comments, finding the article - which does not quote Mau or provide confirmation of its claims - "distasteful, she's done nothing to deserve this" and "intrusive... who cares if she is or is not, let her get on with her life with some privacy and dignity."