<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The wife of deputy </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="" title="Victorian"><span>Victorian</span></a><span> Liberal leader Sam Groth has released a scathing statement after newspaper reports speculated over the timeline of their relationship.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brittany Groth today called a report by the </span><em><span>Herald Sun</span></em><span> "a disgraceful smear campaign" after it questioned whether she was underage when she commenced a relationship with Mr Groth in 2011.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The </span><em><span>Herald Sun</span></em><span>'s decision to speculate salaciously about my personal life from 14 years ago, when I was a teenager, is not journalism," she said.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-koletti-husband-melissa-caddick-charged-over-alleged-assault/f019e7ae-c561-49f3-84ef-0ed33e75cbf7" target="_blank"><strong><span>Anthony Koletti, husband of late fraudster Melissa Caddick, charged over alleged assault</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is a disgraceful smear campaign, devoid of fact, public interest or even basic decency."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mrs Groth labelled claims their relationship began when she was underage and Mr Groth was her tennis coach as "baseless and false".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She claims the </span><em><span>Herald Sun</span></em><span> "never once tried to contact" her regarding the story.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/brittany-groth-sam-groths-wife-publicly-slams-reporting-on-personal-relationship/c319549a-90bf-49ad-8739-6a315abf1a5b" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Their conduct has amounted to pressure on me to disclose intimate details of my personal and private life, including when I first had sex with my husband, to defend myself against fiction," Mrs Groth said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is despicable."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blasting the reporting, which included two articles and social media posts, Mrs Groth said the stories set "a dangerous precedent".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No woman should live in fear that her private history will be picked apart and rewritten by strangers, let alone weaponised by media outlets desperate for clicks," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To the </span><em><span>Herald Sun</span></em><span>, your conduct is shameful.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This was never about the truth. It was about manufacturing a scandal, and you did it at the expense of a young woman, a marriage and two innocent children."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/france-health-study-microplastics/6e8fccaa-54a0-4aa6-bf71-08588b26b53d" target="_blank"><strong><span>New study claims we're breathing in tens of thousands of harmful microplastics every day</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It comes as news emerged that the professional tennis player turned politician has threatened legal action against Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas following her commentary on the matter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Earlier this week, Thomas responded to media questions about the purported scandal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the state," Thomas said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But if you're asking me if it's appropriate for a person in a position of influence or authority ... like a teacher or a coach to be dating a teenager, the answer is no.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I think most parents would stand with me."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Opposition Leader Brad Battin declined to comment on the matter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Any matters now for Sam Groth are a private matter. I just won't be commenting further," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Premier Jacinta Allan said families should be "very much off limits" in the public sphere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><em><span>Herald Sun</span></em><span> has been contacted for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></a><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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