'He did it so effortlessly': Former Today staffer who had an affair with Matt Lauer at the age of 24 shares her story three weeks after the anchor was fired for a sexual harassment claim

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The former Today show staffer who says she had a brief sexual relationship with Matt Lauer in 2000 has spoken out to detail the affair. 

Lauer was fired from the Today show three weeks ago when an unnamed woman accused the 59-year-old journalist of sexual harassment. 

Shortly after, Addie Collins Zinone told Variety about the month-long affair she had with Lauer in 2000, when she was just a 24-year-old production assistant at Today.

While Zinone said the relationship was consensual, she says the power dynamics have made her regret the relationship.

Zinone appeared on Megyn Kelly Today on Monday to reveal more details about her relationship with Lauer. 

Addie Collins Zinone spoke to Megyn Kelly on Monday about her affair with Matt Lauer

She says Katie Couric helped get her a job at Today right out of college and that she and Lauer had a professional working relationship right up until her last weeks on the show.  

But that changed around June 2000, when Zinone says she got an instant message from Lauer one day, complimenting her on her appearance.  At the time, Lauer was already married to his second wife, Annette Roque. 

'It said, wow, you look great. I don't remember verbatim. Whatever you're doing with your life, it's agreeing with you,' Zinone recalled. 'I thought, well, that's nice.' 

Zinone went on to thank Lauer for the compliment. She then took the opportunity to let him know she was leaving the show soon to start a reporting job in West Virginia.  She asked if she might be able to chat with him before she left to get some career advice, and Lauer agreed. 

Zinone was a 24-year-old PA at Today fresh out of college when she began to have a sexual relationship with Matt Lauer (above with Addie)

Zinone says a month went by without any word from Lauer. Then he sent her another awkward message. 

'One day, I got another message that said, "Okay, now you're killing me. You look great today. It's a bit though to concentrate,"' Zinone recalled. 

'And my first reaction was, is this really you? Did somebody sit down and steal your log-in?' she said. 

Zinone says Lauer insured that it was him and said 'I hope you don't take me to personnel for saying this'.

Zinone took the opportunity to remind Lauer that she was leaving again and if he wanted to have the conversation they planned. So the next day he set up lunch. 

But the lunch did not go as Zinone planned. 

It began after she approached him for career advice and he took her to lunch, then asked her to meet him in he dressing room at work for sex (Zinone on left, Lauer on right )

'During the lunch, it didn't go to professional advice. It went quickly to accomplishing his goal. And I realized that,' she said. 

She says she knew what his intentions were when he asked that they leave the lunch separately. 

Back at the office, Zinone said she was overwhelmed by a feeling of confusion. 

'I was trying to be Normal. I'm a P.A. Back to the office. All this nervous energy and I didn't know what to do with it. I was confused. I thought, what is happening?' she said. 

So she messaged Lauer, telling her how she was feeling 'really nervous' and he suggested that she come meet him in his dressing room.   

It was there that they had their first sexual encounter. 

'I realize that sounds very naive and silly of me because I walked over there to do that. In that moment, I didn't have anybody to sort of share my fears and confusion with, except for him. What am I going to say to people? This just happened,' she said. 

She says their sexual relationship lasted for about a month, then she went to West Virginia to start her new job. 

The relationship ended weeks later with Lauer asking Zinone to meet him for sex one last time in a bathroom at a convention center in California during the DNC (Zinone above with Al Roker, Katie Couric and Ann Curry)

Over the years, Zinone says she's been contacted be reporters curious about rumors of their affair.  

She says she always assumed that there were more women out there with stories like hers. 

'He did it so effortlessly with me. I thought, there have to be other women,' she said. 

She added: 'I didn't know there were other colleagues... I did feel alone and isolated and I just carried it.'

When she learned of Lauer's firing, Zinone says she felt some comfort 'knowing I wasn't alone'.

She said she decided to come forward because she heard people doubting Lauer's accusers. 

Zinone later took a reporting job in West Virginia, and then went on to serve two tours of duty overseas  

'I am coming forward and saying this was consensual. I want to put a face and a story to these women's accusations. 

'I'm seeing they're being doubted. I thought, I have to validate their claims. I have to explain it in embarrassing detail because I want them to understand the commonalities in our stories. And to be able to identify the exact same behaviors and predatory behaviors. I recognize them in the stories that I heard. That's how I knew with the behavior,' she said. 

Zinone also spoke about the criticisms she's been receiving since telling her story. 

'The blowback, I expected it. My husband and I decided I was going to go forward with this. And speak out. And become a face. I expected some blowback, of course. 

'I understand that people are going to paint me as a home wrecker, a slut and a whore. Those are things I have been called. It was suggested to me to go get hit by a bus. These are very real things. I expected - I did expect some blowback. Anybody would. Consent to them may be black and white. And why come forward after 17 years?' she said. 

Despite all this Zinone went on to have an impressive career, serving two tours of duty overseas and accepting a position at Access Hollywood. 

She says it was the 'power dynamic' between herself and Lauer that ultimately made her feel like a victim.

'He knew that I was leaving, and that there was no better prey than somebody who is going to be gone,' explains Zinone. 

'He went after the most vulnerable and the least powerful — and those were the production assistants and the interns.'