Auckland Mayor Len Brown admits that he has caused his family "harm, shame and humiliation" by having an affair.
Mr Brown has spoken about the scandal this evening, mere hours after the news broke that he had been involved an extra-marital relationship for around two years.
ONE News understands his mistress is Hong Kong-born Bevan Chuang.
Mr Brown, who was re-elected as mayor on Saturday, told Campbell Live that he hoped the media and community will respect the privacy of his wife, Shan Inglis, and their three daughters at this time.
The mayor, who refused to confirm if Ms Chuang was the "other party", said he had acknowledged the affair and was "dealing" with the repercussions. He told his wife about the affair last week.
"This is the truth, I'm confronting it, I'm dealing with it, I'm dealing with it with my family," he added.
However, Mr Brown said that he would not be speaking about the details of the relationship.
"I don't want to get into the details of it at all. I neither agree or nor disagree with what has been alleged by the other party but what I am saying is that this is a private matter, its personal," he said.
Mr Brown has denied that council resources had been used to support the affair.
He also said he had won the support of the majority of Aucklanders and had no intention of standing down.
"It is my intention to stay as the mayor.... I love that job with a passion and I love the city and I want to stay in the job," he said.
'Highly personal matter'
A sworn affidavit which details aspects of the alleged affair was published on
Whaleoil this evening, though the identity of the woman was not revealed.
In the affidavit, the woman says she had sex with Mr Brown, 57, on "a number of occasions" and has text messages to back up the claims.
In a statement this afternoon, Mr Brown responded to the "highly personalised allegations" made on the blog.
"I told my wife previously, and she and I are working through the issues privately. We are looking to protect our children as best we can.
"These are matters of an entirely personal nature and I ask that the media respect my family's privacy," he said.
Mr Brown said the woman was not a council employee but served on a council advisory board and stood in this year's election for a local board.
Ms Chuang was a candidate for the Albert-Eden Local Board at the weekend's local elections, but was not elected.
'Cheap, black lingerie'
According to the affidavit, the woman first met Mr Brown in May 2011, where she found him to be "pleasant and courteous".
Two hours after the first meeting, the woman received a text message stating from Mr Brown stating how "pleased" he was to meet her.
Five days later, she met Mr Brown again at a function at the Auckland Town Hall, during which he touched the woman's arm, though she "thought little of it at the time".
Soon after, the woman said Mr Brown began texting her at least once or twice a day and calling three to five times a week.
During a closed-door meeting in June 2011, Mr Brown and the woman "shared the first of what was to be many intimate moments together".
According to the affidavit, the woman knew Mr Brown was married.
On the woman's 30th birthday, she said Mr Brown brought her "cheap black lingerie as a gift".
"This was among a number of inexpensive gifts Mr Brown brought me over the course of our two year affair," the affidavit said.
In the following months, the woman said she had sex with Mr Brown on "a number of occasions".
She also said that the pair were caught in the act in the Ngati Whatua Room at the Auckland Town Hall by a security guard.
"We stopped all contact for the next month, expecting that the security guard would publically expose the affair, but he didn't."
Following a liaison in July, Mr Brown stopped communicating with the woman.
"A fortnight ago, I received a text message from an unknown number warning me there would be repercussions if I elected to go public with my story," the affidavit says.
