Jessica Burciaga: Kobe Bryant Mistress?

Amid reports that Vanessa Bryant caught Kobe cheating recently, speculation is swirling over the identity of the mistress who ended the L.A. Lakers star's marriage.

According to borderline reliable gossip site Media Takeout, Kobe Bryant has been carrying on an affair for months with Playboy model Jessica Burciaga.

In addition to appearing in Playboy, Burciaga has also appeared in men's magazines Maxim, Stuff, FHM, as well as numerous calendars and catalogs.

But has she also made appearances in Kobe's bed?

Jessica Burciaga in Playboy. In Slovenian. Hot and untranslatable!

The site claims Kobe has allegedly spent a small fortune - well over a million dollars - on gifts and other goodies for Jessica Burciaga over the past few months. 

Supposedly, when his wife found out that Kobe was not only boning Jessica, but using family funds to finance his affair, she decided it was time to file for divorce.

Whoever he was cheating with, Vanessa Bryant found out, and she isn't happy. For what it's worth, Burciaga vaguely denied the allegation on Twitter yesterday.

"People can actually make up stories online about you and people you don’t even know," she writes, without mentioning Kobe Bryant by name at any point.

"My relationships and people I’ve REALLY dated have never hit the Internet, but things that couldn’t be FURTHER from the truth and lies always do,” she notes.

It seems unlikely that Media Takeout would label Jessica Borciaga as Kobe's mistress out of nowhere ... actually, who are we kidding, it's entirely plausible.

Until Vanessa Bryant talks, we have no way of knowing how many girls there were or how he got caught, and we're guessing she won't be blabbing. Ever.

She and Kobe worked out their settlement, in private, before news of their split even got out, and chances are it includes a full confidentiality agreement.

The pair, who have two daughters, did not have a prenup and were married more than 10 years. So Vanessa is getting half, if not more, of Kobe's fortune.

Previous Kobe Bryant mistresses include former Laker girl Vanessa Curry (2008), the Colorado girl who accused him of raping her (2003) and possible others.