Keith Hernandez says he had a brief relationship with Luann de Lesseps

Former Mets great and current Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez says he used to have a relationship with reality-TV star Luann de Lesseps of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City."

Characterizing it as "friends with benefits," Hernandez, 64, said on Bravo's show "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" Wednesday night that he and de Lesseps, who turned 53 on Thursday, had been together for "a brief moment" at some unspecified time "before she was a countess."

Sag Harbor resident de Lesseps was married to international businessman Count Alexandre de Lesseps, part of the French aristocracy, from 1993 to 2009. They have two children, son Noel and daughter Victoria.

"I met her in Manhattan somewhere, I forget, and she was absolutely gorgeous," recalled Hernandez. "I chased her like a hound." 

When told de Lesseps has a home in Sag Harbor, as does he, Hernandez said jokingly, "Maybe I'll run into her in Sag Harbor," adding, "It's game on!"

De Lesseps' spokeswoman told Newsday that the reality-TV star replied thusly:  "He's single? Yesss!" 

After her first marriage, de Lesseps wed businessman Tom D'Agostino on New Year's Eve 2016, stripping her of her countess title. She announced the following Aug. 3 that they were separating, and the couple divorced shortly afterward.