I thought it was well known that Rubio and friends were the one spreading the Cruz mistress stories. They started a couple of weeks before the Florida primary. There were threads about this same story back then.
Regarding this recent comment by Cruz, if he had just said this off the cuff, I'd be upset about it if, but in the context in the show, it's nothing.
I don’t know who started the fake NE story, but I know who pushed it once it got going.
You can witness it right here on FR.