Alexandra Polier released a statement in Nairobi where she is visiting the her fiance’s parents.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – A woman who has been the subject of rumors linking her to Sen. John Kerry denied Monday that she ever had an affair with the Democratic presidential candidate.

Breaking her silence four days after the allegations surfaced on the Internet, Alexandra Polier issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying, “I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false.”

Kerry already has denied reports that he had an extramarital affair. On Monday, his campaign said he would have no further comment.

Polier’s statement was released to the AP in Nairobi, where the 27-year-old freelance journalist is visiting the parents of her fiance, Yaron Schwartzman, an Israeli who was raised in Kenya. She previously worked as an editorial assistant for the AP in New York.

“Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me,” Polier said, appealing to the media to respect her privacy and the privacy of her fiance and his family.

Polier also took issue with reports that referred to her as a former Kerry intern.

“I never interned or worked for John Kerry,” she told AP over the phone.

Rumors of a relationship between Kerry and Polier first appeared Thursday on the Internet and were picked up by newspapers in several countries outside the United States. Few U.S. publications printed her name, however.

Asked Friday about the reports, Kerry told reporters: “I just deny it categorically. It’s rumor. It’s untrue. And that’s the last time I intend” to respond to questions about it.

Regarding her silence until now, Polier said, “Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them.”

By Monday, reporters and photographers were camped outside the Schwartzmans’ Nairobi home, and at one point pursued the car of Yaron’s mother, Hannah Schwartzman, as she left the walled compound.

Polier and Yaron Schwartzman met at Clark University, in Worcester, Mass. Polier graduated from Clark in 1999. She received her master’s in journalism from Columbia in 2002. They arrived in Kenya last October.