Later in the afternoon Cruz and Trump attacked each other's mental health

National Enquirer denied being influenced by any candidates in 'unflinching' reporting

Trump hit back saying he 'hoped' story was untrue and he had nothing to do with Enquirer but added: 'They were right about John Edwards'

Then Cruz accused Trump of 'rat copulation' and posted a message on Facebook blaming Donald Trump and his 'henchmen' for the claims

It was initially believed the rumor came from Trump, who has threatened Cruz with 'spilling the beans' on his wife, Heidi Cruz

It said Cruz was unfaithful with a 'hot babe', a 'sexy schoolteacher', a 'foxy political

The story 'came from a Marco Rubio ally' and not Donald Trump's camp, according to Breitbart News, who turned down the lead

Rumors surrounding Ted Cruz and allegations he cheated on his wife with five women are believed to have steamed from Marco Rubio's camp - not Donald Trump's, as initially believed.

'For months and months, anti-Cruz operatives have pitched a variety of #CruzSexScandal stories to a host of prominent national publications,' The Daily Beast has reported.

Breitbart News claims it was one of those outlets that was pitched a 'Cruz Sex Scandal' story.

The news site said the pitch came from a video peddled by a 'Rubio ally'.

Very public display: Ted Cruz hugged his wife Heidi today as he issued an unprecedented public denial of claims he had affairs with five women - two of whom were named by the strategy head of a super PAC which earlier this week published a pro-Cruz poster of Melania Trump naked

Cruz, who ate lunch with his family at a traditional fish fry restaurant in Green Bay, Wisconsin, (pictured), initially blamed Donald Trump for the affair allegations

Breitbart News revealed on Friday that a 'Marco Rubio ally' has been peddling a story about Cruz's sex scandal for approximately six months, according to the Daily Beast

Breitbart News claims it was one of those outlets that was pitched a 'Cruz Sex Scandal' story, but decided there wasn't enough evidence to merit a report

The 'Marco Rubio ally' who pitched the story showed Breitbart a video compilation of Cruz with other women

In one video it is alleged 'Cruz and a woman other than his wife' can be seen 'coming out of the Capitol Grille restaurant'

The video shows 'a compilation video of Cruz and a woman other than his wife coming out of the Capitol Grille restaurant and a hotel on Tuesdays and Thursdays', according to The Daily Beast.

In the end Breitbart News turned the story down because 'there was no way to verify the claims'.

However, the video was enough for Nation Enquirer to run with it.

Cruz believed it was Donald Trump and his 'henchmen' who were spreading a smear, prompting a scathing response from the Republican frontrunner.

Cruz publicly denied cheating on his wife Heidi with five woman - described in the National Enquirer as including a 'hot babe' and a '$1,000 a night call girl'.

Another clip in the video is said to show the GOP presidential hopeful coming out of 'a hotel on Tuesdays and Thursdays'

Amidst the scandal Cruz toured the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame with former Green Bay Packer player Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila

And he accused Donald Trump and his henchmen of being behind it saying his rival had acted to 'enlist' the Enquirer to spread a smear.

That prompted Trump to issue a lengthy statement denying being involved, but which said of the National Enquirer 'they were right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards and many others.'

'I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin' Ted Cruz,' he said.

While spending the day with his wife, Heidi, and daughters Caroline and Catherine Cruz, Ted Cruz denied the allegations brought forward by National Enquirer, who published the story

Cruz went after Donald Trump, but didn't realize the story of the alleged affair had come from Rubio's camp

The extraordinary spectacle of the Christian conservative candidate defending the integrity of his marriage unfolded in the space of hours.

He first found himself facing extraordinary claims of five affairs when a story in the National Enquirer magazine became the subject of Washington gossip on Thursday night, and two women were named as potential mistresses by a Republican operative on Friday morning.

The Enquirer had never named the women with whom it accused Cruz of cheating on his wife Heidi.

Donald Trump's spokeswoman Katrina Pierson (left) pushed back on allegations - that started with a National Enquirer story - that she had an affair and 'came on' to Sen. Ted Cruz - and so did Amanda Carpenter (right)

THE ENQUIRER FIVE The National Enquirer accused Ted Cruz of five affairs - all of which he denied today. It did not name the women but said they were: 'FOXY POLITICAL CONSULTANT' One worked for Cruz, now associated with another political campaign, said the magazine. '"Randy Ted" supposedly had a romp with her in a closet at a Republican state convention.'' 'PRETTY LAWYER' Worked for his Senate campaign when they had affair - and it continued as she worked elsewhere. 'HOT BABE' Caught 'getting cozy' on the campaign trail. 'SEXY AUSTIN SCHOOLTEACHER' Allegedly had 'fling' after he was made Texas solicitor general. '$1,000 A NIGHT CALL GIRL' 'Ted supposedly had it on with a prostitute,' the magazine said. Advertisement

AND HERE'S WHAT THE MAGAZINE SAYS ABOUT CLAIMS IT WAS INFLUENCED BY TRUMP No one influences the reporting that the National Enquirer does other than our own reporters and editors. We stand by the integrity of our coverage and remain committed to our aggressive reporting on such an important topic. The more than any other publication, has been unflinching in its reporting on the 2016 presidential candidates. Issued by AMI, Enquirer parent company, to the Hollywood Reporter Advertisement

But then the Republican behind an attack on Donald Trump earlier this week which featured a naked picture of his wife Melania named two women she said were alleged to be his mistress.

Liz Mair, a respected Republican strategist, used her Twitter to name Amanda Carpenter, a former spokeswoman for Cruz who is now a CNN contributor, and a Trump spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, who is a former Cruz ally.

Both denied the claim robustly - but it lit a fire which Cruz then had to act to put out.

'Let me be clear. This National Enquirer story is garbage,' Cruz said this afternoon. 'It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear and it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.'

Then he launched into an attack on Trump saying his rival was a 'rat' - 'but I have no desire to copulate with him'.

He blamed Roger Stone, a former Trump aide labeled a 'ratf****r' over claims he was involved in dirty tricks for the Nixon administration for the 'garbage', saying Stone had '50 years of dirty tricks behind him'.

'He’s a man for whom a term was coined for copulating with a rodent. Well, let me be clear. Donald Trump may be a rat but I have no desire to copulate with him.'

Then he used Facebook to blame Trump directly.

'For Donald J. Trump to enlist his friends at the National Enquirer and his political henchmen to do his bidding shows you that there is no low Donald won’t go,' he said.

'These smears are completely false, they’re offensive to Heidi and me, they’re offensive to our daughters, and they’re offensive to everyone Donald continues to personally attack.'

But the claim that Trump had influenced it incensed the National Enquirer.

Its parent company AMI issued a statement saying: 'No one influence the reporting that the National Enquirer does other than our own reporters and editors.'

By 5pm in the afternoon the rival candidates attacked each other's mental health.

Jeff Roe, Cruz's campaign manager tweeted an accusation that Trump was hiding some form of mental illness.

'MISSING#SleazyDonald Why no events in 4 days; none planned for 8. Ever had psychological eval? What is hiding in medical records! Release!'

Trump's rapid response was to retweet a suggestion Cruz was having a breakdown.

His message read: '@11phenomenon: #LyingTed blames @realDonaldTrump for so many things I am starting to think he is having a mental health crisis.'

Cruz, who has made his Christian faith and family values the centerpiece of his campaign for the White House, using campaign time to deny five affairs, sent shocks through Washington.

On twitter, the hashtag 'TedCruzAffairs' was one of the most popular across the nation.

Both women named by Mair denied they had committed adultery with Cruz.

And finally: The Cruz camp's late afternoon response to the day's developments

Last word: Donald Trump hit back by retweeting a suggestion that Cruz was having 'a mental health crisis'

'Speaking for myself, the article is trash and 100 percent false,' Pierson told Daily Mail Online.

'What’s out there is tabloid trash. If someone wants to comment on it, they can talk to my lawyer,' said Carpenter of the allegations.

Mair had named them both on Twitter this morning. She wrote tweets directed at both Pierson and Carpenter suggesting that they should sue as the allegations are 'obviously false.'

'Ted Cruz should sue over [obviously] false allegation he had an affair [with] Katrina Pierson, [though] I've heard she may have come onto him. Who knows,' Mair wrote.

The tweet incensed Pierson, who wrote back earlier this morning.

'What's worse? People who actually believe the trash in tabloids, or the ones who know it's false & spread it anyway? #stupidity on all levels,' Pierson tweeted.

Pierson, a Dallas-based tea party leader had prominently been a Cruz supporter before switching her allegiance and vocally supporting Trump.

She eventually became a paid member of The Donald's campaign.

Contacted by email, Mair's out-of-office reply indicated that had already left for the Easter holiday and would be back next week.

Turning to the Carpenter allegation, Mair had wrote: 'As for people suggesting Amanda Carpenter slept [with] Cruz, she should sue them.'

'That is [obviously] false, as anyone who knows Amanda knows,' Mair continued.

Republican strategist Liz Mair - whose super PAC Make America Awesome produced a controversial nude Melania Trump ad - outed Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson as one of the five women the National Enquirer suggested slept with Ted Cruz after Twitter users started identifying her

Liz Mair also named CNN's Amanda Carpenter, a former communicators director for Sen. Ted Cruz, as one of the women whose blurred face appeared in the National Enquirer story

Donald Trump's spokeswoman Katrina Pierson wrote this tweet this morning after Republican strategist publicly named her as one of the five women the National Enquirer claimed had an affair with Sen. Ted Cruz

She did this too: Liz Mair was behind this campaign image distributed in Utah to attack Donald Trump earlier this week - to the fury of the Republican frontrunner, who blamed 'Lyin' Ted Cruz' for it

'It would also be fun to get access to Trump comms staff, Trump Org emails as part of discovery in a defamation suit,' Mair added in another tweet, tagging Carpenter's Twitter handle.

Carpenter was forced to respond to the story during a live television segment.

The CNN contributor appeared alongside Trump supporter Adriana Cohen, a columnist for the Boston Herald.

The two women were supposed to be discussing this week's tiff between the Cruz and Trump camps, but instead Cohen brought the tabloid story up.

'If we're going to call Donald Trump's character into question, I would like Ted Cruz to issue a statement on whether or not the story is true, that he has had affairs with may women, including, you were named, Amanda,' Cohen said, pointing to her co-panelist.

'Will you denounce this story or will you confirm it?'

Carpenter denounced, with an assist from host Kate Bolduan, who said that CNN had done no reporting to lend credibility to the Enquirer's account and the subsequent Twitter claims as to who its unnamed women were.

'It's categorically false,' Carpenter said. 'You should be ashamed for spreading this smut. Donald Trump supporters should be held to account for it.'

Cohen blasted back: 'I'm not spreading smut,' she said.

'I will not be intimated,' Carpenter replied. 'I will continue to make my thoughts known about Donald Trump. I am not backing down.'

Ted Cruz spent much of his week defending his wife Heidi Cruz against attacks made by Donald Trump and his allies

What the Enquirer got right: The news magazine correctly found that John Edwards was cheating on his wife with a campaign aide who had his love child

And this too: Trump did not say which of the tabloid's many stories on O.J. Simpson he was referring to but this was one of the most high-profile stories it ran raising questions over how truthful his murder defense was

On her Twitter page, Carpenter retweeted a show of support from prominent conservative pundit, who's also on CNN, Mary Katherine Ham.

'I am so with you, Amanda Carpenter & all the other women Trump & supporters casually smear,' Ham wrote, including a block quote of Carpenter defending herself against Cohen on CNN.

Cruz also railed against the story on his Facebook page.

'I want to be crystal clear: these attacks are garbage. For Donald J. Trumpto enlist his friends at the National Enquirer and his political henchmen to do his bidding shows you that there is no low Donald won’t go,' he wrote.

'These smears are completely false, they’re offensive to Heidi and me, they’re offensive to our daughters, and they’re offensive to everyone Donald continues to personally attack, he continued.

'Donald Trump’s consistently disgraceful behavior is beneath the office we are seeking and we are not going to follow,' he added.

The original Enquirer story, which doesn't appear online, but has been picked up by gossip sites like Gawker, says that political operatives are compiling a 'dirt file' on Cruz with private investigators looking into claims that he had affairs with a who's who of Republican party politics – as well as a 'sexy Austin schoolteacher' and a 'Washington, D.C. call girl.'

Besides Pierson and Carpenter, the third political type worked for a different presidential campaign, which has now aligned itself with Cruz.

The only on-the-record source for the story is Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally who previously worked for the campaign.

'These stories have been swirling around Cruz for some time,' Stone told the tabloid. 'I believe where there is smoke, there is fire. I have to believe that this will hurt him with his evangelical Christian supporters.'

The attack on the credibility of Cruz's marriage comes at an interesting time in the campaign as he has spent the week vehemently defending his wife.

Once Trump saw the ad featuring naked Melania, he unleashed on Cruz, even though the spot was produced by Mair's super PAC.

In his most bold defense of Heidi Cruz yet, the candidate tore into The Donald during a campaign stop yesterday in Wisconsin.

'Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone,' Cruz said.

While lines seem to be drawn between the Cruz and Trump people in today's spat, Pierson squarely stayed on team Donald, ripping into Heidi Cruz this morning on MSNBC.

Pierson suggested that 'spilling the beans' on Heidi Cruz, a threat that Trump had issued over Twitter, was simply shedding light on her record of working for Wall Street.