Bret Lockett

Kim Kardashian at the 2011 Glamour Woman of the Year Awards at Berkeley Square Gardens in London (6/7)

In Touch is claiming that Kim Kardashian had a secret fling with New England Patriots safety Bret Lockett . . . who may or may not be a real person. Kim Kardashian hooking up with an athlete? Well I never! Lockett's brother Colin told the mag:

"I was talking to [Kim's friend] Lauren about my brother, and she said Kim Kardashian wanted Bret's phone number. They chatted, and then they started texting each other."

Kim, who a friend says told Bret she was single, asked if he was ready to be her boyfriend, and Bret flirtatiously responded, "Are you ready for me?" and Kim quickly replied, "I'm sure I'm ready." Although she claims she was in love with Kris at this point, Kim sent Bret a text, which several sources have seen, asking for a "SEXY picture" of himself, to which Bret replied she should "be patient" because soon, she'd get to see his body in person.

Predictably, Kim is not too happy about the story and she's threatening to sue:

TMZ has obtained a demand letter, written by Kim's lawyer, threatening "In Touch" that if it ran the cheating story Kim would take legal action. The letter put "In Touch" on notice ... the cheating allegations "are, at a minimum, damaging, defamatory, and an invasion of her privacy."

Kim's reps tell TMZ ... Kim has never even met or spoken with Lockett.

Nevertheless, "In Touch" is publishing the story in its new issue. In the story, Lockett is quoted, saying, "I knew this was a game to her, and this is what she does." Lockett adds, "She pursued me."

I love how Kim's lawyer says the allegations are "an invasion of her privacy." Um, we're talking about Kim Kardashian here, not Malia and Sasha Obama. You can't live your life in front of an E! cameraman and then play the "privacy" card when something negative comes out about you. For Christ's sake, she had TV cameras at her damn proposal. STFU about privacy. There's literally only one thing I've never seen Kim Kardashian do, and that's why bathrooms have doors.



*31 Kim Kardashian pictures total in the gallery: