Seven West Media is standing by its embattled chief executive Tim Worner despite condemning his inappropriate sexual relationship with an employee as "completely unacceptable" and "deeply regrettable."
The statement issued on Monday night was in response to allegations that a $100,000 "bonus" was paid to Amber Harrison who has detailed claims that she and Mr Worner had engaged in cocaine-fuelled sexual encounters, some of which took place at work events.
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Seven executive's extra-marital affair in legal battle
Legal stoush after Seven West Media boss Tim Worner's messy affair with a 35-year-old executive assistant goes public after negotiations breakdown.
"This relationship finished some years ago and I apologised at the time, and am still trying to make amends," Mr Worner said in the statement. "I am obviously filled with the deepest regret and shame." Mr Worner said his focus was to "minimise the distress to my family" and "repair the damage I've caused".
Seven's share price fell by almost eight per cent on Monday in the wake of the allegations.
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Seven's statement did not address questions about alleged drug use, instead saying her statement was full of "wide-ranging inaccuracies".
When the affair began, Ms Harrison, then 35, was the executive assistant to Nick Chan, then CEO of Seven West's magazines. At the time Mr Worner was CEO of the Seven network. The affair ran from the end of 2012 until June 2014.
At the height of the affair, in July 2013, he was appointed CEO of Seven West Media. By the middle of 2013, Ms Harrison alleges the couple were heightening their sexual experiences with recreational drugs – specifically cocaine.
Text messages included in Ms Harrison's media release included one from Mr Worner dated 21 June, 2013, saying, "I think my performance was drug assisted. And if you can go dirtier I am slightly scared. But you are f hot so I will take the chance."
 Mr Worner declined to comment on the allegations of drug use alleged by Ms Harrison. He also claimed that the affair commenced prior to his appointment as CEO.
Ms Harrison said her last sexual encounter with Mr Worner was in June 2014 and that the relationship began to unravel after Ms Harrison's boss was moved to Seven's headquarters in Pyrmont in late 2013.
By early 2014 Ms Harrison became depressed  and began taking sick leave. On July 11 she was tipped off that she was being investigated for misuse of her credit card.
 "I believe the investigation was suggested by Tim in the hope I would resign," she said in her media statement.
I am obviously filled with the deepest regret and shame.
Tim Worner
A spokesman for Seven said, concerns about the misuse of her credit card arose out of a random audit and occurred prior to management being aware of the relationship.
On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Ms Harrison told the head of human resources Melanie Allibon that she had been having, what was later termed, an "inappropriate consensual relationship" with Mr Worner.
Two days later Bruce McWilliam, the network's commercial director, and Ms Allibon prepared a deed of release which Ms Harrison signed. The deed stipulated she must not make "any statement publicly or otherwise about or related to the relationship ..."
Ms Harrison also undertook to destroy all information about her relationship with Mr Worner. Within a fortnight she had to repay $14,000 of outstanding personal expenses charged to her work credit card. Â In return, she would receive $100,000 plus two months of paid personal leave and on her return she would be employed elsewhere in the Seven group.
Upon her return, Ms Harrison was asked to meet Ms Allibon on November 8. Â Mr McWilliam told her she was being made redundant.
He produced details of a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu which had identified $262,000 of unauthorised expenditure on her card.
Deloitte had been engaged on  August 1, 2014, the same day she had signed her deed.
Ms Harrison hired workplace law firm Harmers and on November 14 a new deed was signed which again had confidentiality provisions clauses about the relationship.
Ms Harrison was to receive $350,000 of which $100,000 was compensation for alleged injury, Â including loss of professional standing and reputation, pain and suffering ... Â Ms Harrison later refuted most of the claims of unauthorised expenditure. "The entire process was a witchhunt, Seven did not investigate in any depth as they just thought they'd throw this enormous figure at me and bury me with it," she said.
After Ms Harrison refused to hand over her personal computer and phone, the second deed collapsed and Seven ceased monthly payments it was making to Ms Harrison.
Earlier this year the parties entered a failed mediation process.