Clarke Gayford has spoken about being smeared as the subject of a false rumour campaign, saying the experience has left him feeling "completely cynical".
In an interview with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand this morning, the partner of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked about being the subject - over several months on social media and via word of mouth - of untrue allegations and accusations.
The sheer scale and nature of the claims led to Police Commissioner Mike Bush last month taking the extraordinary step of signing off a media release that rejected the speculation.
Gayford was not and had not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor had he been charged in relation to any matter, a police national headquarters statement said at the time.
Neither Gayford or Ardern, who is expecting the couple's first child on June 17, would comment at the time.