Kelly Stafford’s podcast partner made his return to the program after being accused in June of making unwanted sexual moves on a man during a massage session.

Hank Winchester, an Emmy-winning reporter in Detroit, spoke openly about the claims after being cleared by police who carried out a full investigation.

Winchester went back to the podcast he runs with Kelly, wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and described undergoing lie detector tests along with the ‘mentally draining ordeal’ he experienced.

‘An accusation was made against me by an individual and officers are obligated in these situations to look into such claims,’ said Winchester, whose Beverly Hills residence was searched by police on June 13 with a warrant.

‘But they also need to examine the background of the accuser. That’s one of the big lessons I’ve learned through this.

‘And because of steps taken by the local authorities, a local news station released a report that quickly spread everywhere.’

Winchester did not identify which station it was. Once the accusations became public, he was put on administrative leave at Detroit’s NBC affiliate Local 4 News (WDIV). It’s uncertain if he is still on leave today.

Fox 2 Detroit, one of the outlets that covered the claims, reported then that Winchester had recently studied massage therapy. It’s unknown whether he was giving or receiving the massage when the event occurred.

‘As a result this turned into a very lengthy but necessary probe,’ Winchester explained. ‘Necessary because if it had to happen, I wanted investigators to have every chance to check all the facts, which they did, and decided the claim was false, baseless, and defamatory.

‘And that gave my attorneys a chance to speak out… and I’m grateful for that. I’m thankful to be past this now. Fully cleared. No charges. The facts proved it.’

‘Still, it was emotionally draining, as my lawyers explained. I took two polygraphs, passed both with flying colors, and no sign of lying.

‘I chose to do it willingly because I wanted investigators to have all the information. That’s really all I can say… It comes down to gratitude, not excuses.’

Winchester is married to Jacob Cunningham, a Circuit Judge in Oakland County. Together they are raising their 7-year-old daughter, Emma.

‘This was the hardest nine weeks of my life,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve lost both my parents, battled testicular cancer, survived divorce. I’ve faced tough times. None of it compared to this because it touched every part of life.’

Kelly said she feared for Winchester as the investigation went on:

Kelly, the Rams quarterback’s wife, said she often worried about him: ‘I just hope you realized how loved and supported you are, because you truly are, Hank.’

She added: ‘It was rough because at one point I felt I couldn’t even reach you… I’m so damn happy right now.

‘I knew this would be the outcome, but wow it took forever to reach it. At least it’s finally here. I won’t bite my tongue, I’ll let you finish.’

Winchester’s attorneys – Todd Flood and Neil Rockind – told reporters Friday that their client was a victim of false claims that spread worldwide after one outlet broke the story.

During his podcast absence, Kelly only said Winchester was ‘handling personal matters’ without going into details.