Restaurateur Keith McNally made bizarre claims on social media that he had a “whirlwind love affair” with Diane Sawyer in the ’70s — though, we hear, it’s a work of fiction.
“DIANE SAWYER WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN I EVER SLEPT WITH,” he dramatically began an Instagram post Wednesday, alongside a series of cozy snapshots of himself and the longtime ABC news journalist.
In the lengthy caption, McNally, 73, wrote that he and Sawyer, 79, met 53 years ago in London when they happened to sit next to each other at a production of the Tom Stoppard play “Jumpers.”
The Balthazar owner described Sawyer as “stunningly attractive,” who, after the play, invited him to join her and a couple of her pals for dinner.
“I really wanted to join them but couldn’t afford it and hesitated,” he wrote. “Understanding my predicament, Diane lied and said the dinner was already paid for.”
McNally then claimed the duo embarked on a “whirlwind love affair” that “only lasted a week” but resulted in a lifelong friendship.
“Even though I’m really happy that we’re best friends I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together,” he concluded.
When Page Six requested some other details from the restaurant bigwig, he cheekily replied through a publicist: “Please tell the Post what happened in London STAYS in London.”
His rep then later clarified that the post is “not true.”
A spokesperson for Sawyer did not immediately respond for comment.
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McNally went on to marry and divorce twice, while Sawyer was married to director Mike Nichols from 1988 until he died in 2014 of a heart attack at 83.
McNally has been in the news of late for his memoir “I Regret Almost Everything.”
Sawyer was a guest at one of two special book parties McNally threw at Balthazar, celebrating the book’s release.
In it, he reveals that he attempted suicide after a debilitating stroke and had a youthful affair with the British playwright Alan Bennett.