Eddie Cibrian is fighting back against a report that claims he’s having an affair with co-star LeAnn Rimes.
“It is a fabricated story that is using random snapshots as connective tissue to create a scandalous relationship,” Cibrian says in a statement first obtained by Access Hollywood.
A Rimes friend tells PEOPLE the country star, 26, and Cibrian, 35 – who is married to model Brandi Glanville and has two sons, Mason, 5, and Jake, almost 2 – are not in a relationship. “There are some feelings there but it’s too early to tell if it’s going to develop and if she’s done with her marriage,” says the pal.
While it’s unclear how the allegations will affect Rimes’s seven-year marriage to songwriter Dean Sheremet, the couple have definitely hit a rough patch, Rimes’s friend confirms.
“[LeAnn and Dean] are figuring it out,” says the friend. “They have a lot of mutual respect for one another.”
“The situation that she’s grappling with right now is not the cause for her marriage troubles,” the friend continues. “There have been issues brewing for months prior to meeting Eddie on set.”