Kelly Stafford’s podcast co-host returned to the show after he was previously accused of making unwanted sexual advances to a man during a massage back in June.

Hank Winchester, an Emmy-winning television reporter in Detroit, opened up about the allegations after he was cleared by law enforcement after they conducted an investigation.

Winchester returned to the podcast he co-hosts with Kelly, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and spoke about taking polygraph tests and the ’emotionally exhausting process’ he went through.

‘But they should also take the time to investigate the person making the allegations. It is kind of one of the lessons I’ve learned in all of this. 

‘And as a result of some action that was taken by the local law enforcement, there was a local media report that was done by one station in particular and that really kind of spread like wildfire.’

Kelly Stafford’s ‘The Morning After’ co-host Hank Winchester has returned to the show 

Winchester (center) is also friends with Kelly’s husband, LA Rams quarterback Matthew (left)

Winchester did not name the specific news station. After the allegations were unveiled, he was placed on administrative leave with Detroit’s NBC affiliate Local 4 News (WDIV). It’s not clear if Winchester has since been taken off administrative leave.

Fox2 Detroit, one of the stations which reported on the allegations, said at the time that Winchester had studied massage therapy recently. It’s not clear if he was the masseuse or if he was receiving a massage when the allegations occurred. 

‘As a result it led to a very detailed and necessary investigation,’ Winchester said. ‘I say necessary because if it’s going to happen, I want to know that investigators had every opportunity to look at everything they needed to, which they did, and determine that in this case that allegation was unfounded, it was baseless, it was defamatory. 

‘And that was the opportunity now for my attorneys to come out… but I’m very thankful for that. And I’m very thankful to be on the other side of this. One-hundred percent clear. No charges. The evidence spoke for itself.

‘But I will tell you it was an emotionally exhausting process as my attorneys revealed. I took two polygraph tests and passed them with flying colors and there was no detection of any deception. 

‘And I did that voluntarily because it was important for me to make sure the investigators had everything they needed. That’s pretty much all I can say about it… It just essentially comes down to not me saying thank you.’

Winchester is married to Jacob Cunningham, an Oakland County Circuit Judge. The couple share a 7-year-old daughter, Emma.

Accusations against Winchester were cleared after an investigation by law enforcement 

‘This was the worst nine weeks of my entire life,’ he said. ‘And I’ve lost both my parents, I’ve had testicular cancer, I’ve gone through a divorce. I’ve had s–t. Nothing compared to this because every aspect of your life is touched.’

Kelly shared that she was worried for Winchester during the course of the investigation:  

Kelly, who is the wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, recalled being worried about Winchester during the investigation: ‘I do hope you felt how much you’re cared about and loved because you are and it’s because of the person you are Hank.’

She continued: ‘It was honestly hard because for a minute there I felt like I couldn’t get a hold of you… I’m so f***ing glad right now. 

‘I knew this was going to be the end result but damn did it take awhile to get here but aren’t we glad that it’s finally f–king here. I don’t want to bite my tongue or get in trouble by saying too much. I’ll let you take over.’

Winchester’s attorneys – Todd Flood and Neil Rockind – said in a press conference on Friday that Winchester was the victim of allegations spread internationally after one TV station published a story.

At the time of his absence from the podcast, Kelly mentioned that Winchester was ‘dealing with some personal stuff’ but did not go into detail on specifics.

Winchester is a Michigan native and a graduate of Central Michigan University. He worked at TV stations across the state, as well as in Miami, before joining WDIV’s staff.