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A heavily-tattooed model has claimed an 11-month affair with the husband of Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock, who abruptly pulled out of movie promotional events in London on Thursday.
Michelle "Bombshell" McGee told In Touch magazine that she and Bullock's husband Jesse James began their affair as the actress was filming "The Blind Side," the movie for which she won a Best Actress Oscar this month.
McGee said she met James after he responded to her request for information about modelling on his television show "West Coast Choppers."
"He started saying, 'Do you want to hang out?'" and she travelled to Los Angeles to meet him a week later, she said.
McGee said James was ambiguous about his relationship with Bullock.
"We ended up on the couch," she told the magazine. "He wanted to watch movies, but I asked him, 'What's going on with you and Sandra?'"
"He said, 'She doesn't live here. She has a house in Austin. She is filming, and I can't talk about it,'" which McGee said led her to believe the couple was separated.
McGee told the magazine that she and James had sex "two or three times" that night and continued to sleep together for the next five weeks, texting each other several times a day.
There was no public acknowledgement of the affair from either Bullock or her husband, but Warner Bros studio reportedly issued a statement on the actress's behalf, saying she would not attend the London premiere of "The Blind Side."
"Due to unforeseen personal reasons, a trip abroad to support the opening of The Blind Side has been deemed impossible at this time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your understanding and continued support of the film."
People magazine reported Thursday that Bullock was no longer living in the southern California home she shared with James, citing an unnamed source who said the actress had moved out several days before the infidelity claims.
Reports of the marital strife came as Bullock, 45, celebrated her most successful year yet, receiving a slew of awards for her turn as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a feisty southern matriarch who mentors a troubled teenager, in "The Blind Side."
In an emotional Oscars acceptance speech, Bullock did not directly acknowledge her husband, who gave her a standing ovation and whistled as she took to the stage to receive the honor.
But in remarks that paid tribute to her late mother, she thanked her for having "allowed me to have that," nodding to her husband and smiling broadly.
Bullock wed James, a distant relative of the legendary 19th century US outlaw of the same name, in 2005.
He had been married twice before, including to a porn star, and has three children from two different relationships. Bullock and James have no children together.
