Last year, there was a story about how legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen, 60, was named as the other party in the divorce of a 45 year-old New Jersey housewife named Ann Kelly. Both Springsteen and Kelly, who works out at his gym, denied the affair. The National Enquirer had a follow-up story that claimed that Kelly was stalking Springsteen and that he wanted nothing to do with her. Springsteen has been married for almost 19 years to backup singer Patti Scialfa. They have three children together: Evan, 20, Jessica, 19, and Samuel, 16. (Note that those ages are just based on the year so any of those ages may technically be a few months premature.) Rumor had it that Springsteen hooked up with Scialfa when he was still married to Julianne Phillips. He was also thought to have had an affair with a 9/11 widow he met at a fundraiser. He denied that claim. Bruce’s wife Patti, the 9/11 widow, and this other woman Ann Kelly are all striking redheads.

Anyway there are new court papers in Kelly’s divorce that describe how the alleged romance with Springsteen developed. The two met at the gym, started going to lunch together, and Kelly was smitten with the rugged rock star. She was gifted tickets to sit in the front row while he performed and he supposedly sent her Valentine’s Day cards without signing them so her husband wouldn’t find out. From the details in The NY Post, there are no specific allegations of hotel hookups or sex, but he does claim it was a full affair and it sounds like there was plenty of romance there. Here are some highlights, with more at the source:

Arthur says Ann told him that Springsteen, 60, would stand at the end of her treadmill as she ran. It must have been a tempting vantage point for the “Thunder Road” singer because he once told Ann she had the “nicest ass” in the gym, Arthur says.

Workouts spilled into lunches at a nearby cafe, with Ann’s two daughters sometimes tagging along. The children got to know Springsteen so well that they called him “Bruce,” according to court records.

The wide-ranging chats Ann had with Springsteen got into politics. When the blue-collar hero and liberal icon learned that Ann was conservative, he gave her two books to read.

Being with Bruce brightened Ann’s day. She allegedly told Arthur’s mother several times that “it made her feel good that Bruce Springsteen was very interested in her,” the papers say.

The housewife allegedly conscripted her friends to be on Springsteen watch.

In 2006, one friend supposedly left a voice mail on Ann’s phone saying, “I got your message, and there were no Bruce sightings at the gym today…”

Springsteen seemed smitten — Arthur alleges in court papers that The Boss told Ann that he thought about her while he was on tour.

There were other signs, Arthur says. In 2007 and 2008, unsigned Valentine’s Day cards without stamps or postmarks showed up in the Kellys’ mailbox in West Long Branch.

Springsteen personally gave Ann front-row tickets to concert rehearsals on Sept. 24 and 25, 2007, for his “Magic Tour” shows at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park. Ann was so floored by The Boss’ crooning, she allegedly told Arthur’s mother, “It felt like Bruce Springsteen was singing to me.”

In 2008, Ann allegedly opted to be with Springsteen rather than her ailing husband. While Arthur had open-heart surgery in Cleveland, the singer joined her at a table at the Turning Point restaurant in Pier Village in Long Branch.

As part of the divorce settlement, Arthur took the adultery claim out of his petition and both parties agreed not to talk to the media. At her West Long Branch home last week, Ann declined to comment to The Post. In past divorce filings, she has denied a sexual relationship with Springsteen. However, during a deposition over the summer, she declined to answer any questions about the singer, court papers show.

The breaking point in the marriage allegedly came when Arthur told Ann a witness had spotted her kissing Springsteen in the parking lot of their gym. Arthur also claimed that the day before he filed for divorce, Ann admitted to him that her “relationship with Bruce Springsteen was inappropriate.”

[From The NY Post]

So did Springsteen cheat with this woman, was he just having an “emotional affair,” or was it an innocent friendship? It’s still possible that this woman became fixated on him and that he was just friendly with her, but I doubt it. Often in this type of case a man will deny everything and say the woman is crazy or that she was just a friend. Sometimes that’s true, but when married people are secretly meeting for lunch dates and and sending cards to each other it’s not like they’re just friends. That either leads to something more eventually or is pretty solid evidence that there’s already an affair.