John Mayer admits his crush on Ricki Lake

NEW YORK — Richard Simmons was gaga over Ricki Lake and proud of the weight she has lost, but move over Richard, a highly respected rock star, whose music is featured in the new Jack Nicholson movie “The Bucket List,” has had his eye on Lake for a long time.

“I have had a huge Ricki Lake crush,” John Mayer told “Access Hollywood,” but he didn’t just tell us.

At an industry Christmas party, Lake got to hear it first, and straight from the man himself.

“When you meet someone that you’ve had a crush on when you were a kid, you go, ‘Hey! I’ve had a huge crush on you since I was a kid!’” Mayer recounted.

And Lake loves it. She e-mailed “Access Hollywood’s” Maria Menounos over the news.

“I can’t imagine anything more flattering to me at this point in my life than John Mayer telling me he has a crush on me,” Lake wrote. “He’s a wonderful guy.”

Now, Page Six claims more may have happened than just an amorous admission. The tabloid reports the pair sat together for the rest of the party and after leaving, texted the entire night. But it’s an account blown out of proportion according to Mayer.

“I’m not gonna go up to a woman and mess with her head,” Mayer said. “I got no problem saying to someone I got a crush and I’ll say it again to the next person I had a crush on since I was a kid,” he said. “I’m not gonna let some stupid Page Six story make, make me not want to live my life anymore.”