www.nypost.com/p/news/local/an_under_dFoIwCZyS1kP73wg2jSQVLBy JAMES FANELLI
Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" made her melt.
Ann Kelly, 45, was a housewife living with her mortgage-broker husband and two children in a $600,000 home in a leafy New Jersey suburb.
But when the married Springsteen entered her life in 2005 -- showering her with concert tickets, serenading her during rehearsals and confessing she was on his mind while he toured -- the Jersey girl got lost in a "Tunnel of Love," court records alleged.
The relationship between Kelly and the "Born to Run" singer began with chitchats on the treadmills at a high-priced Red Bank, NJ, gym, but the pace quickened with lunch dates and eventually a full-on affair, her soon-to-be ex-husband claimed.
Accusations of an illicit tryst came to light after Ann's husband of 17 years, Arthur Kelly, 46, filed for divorce on March 27, 2009.
During the yearlong divorce proceeding, Arthur filed court papers alleging that Ann enjoyed a rendezvous with Springsteen while the husband was laid up in a hospital with heart trouble. Arthur also discussed marriage-counseling sessions at which The Boss was the main topic.
The bitter divorce is expected to be settled this week.
Rumors that Springsteen was stepping out with a redheaded knockout who was a dead ringer for Patti Scialfa, his wife of 18 years, began to swirl among gym rats at The Atlantic Club in 2005.
Arthur says Ann told him that Springsteen, 60, would stand at the end of her treadmill as she ran. It must have been a tempting vantage point for the "Thunder Road" singer because he once told Ann she had the "nicest ass" in the gym, Arthur says.
Workouts spilled into lunches at a nearby cafe, with Ann's two daughters sometimes tagging along. The children got to know Springsteen so well that they called him "Bruce," according to court records.
The wide-ranging chats Ann had with Springsteen got into politics. When the blue-collar hero and liberal icon learned that Ann was conservative, he gave her two books to read.
Being with Bruce brightened Ann's day. She allegedly told Arthur's mother several times that "it made her feel good that Bruce Springsteen was very interested in her," the papers say.
The housewife allegedly conscripted her friends to be on Springsteen watch.
In 2006, one friend supposedly left a voice mail on Ann's phone saying, "I got your message, and there were no Bruce sightings at the gym today."
Another friend purportedly provided intelligence on when Springsteen's wife would be away.
"[She] said that Patti will be out of town for the next two weeks," the friend said, according to a court filing.
As talk of an affair spread in 2006, Ann's father, Stephen Carton, allegedly grew concerned that she was wrecking her marriage. He urged her to quit the gym and cut off contact with Springsteen.
But the Kellys' marriage was already deteriorating.
The unhappy couple was attending counseling sessions where the "relationship with Bruce Springsteen was the main subject we discussed with the therapist as a major problem in our marriage," Arthur stated in a court filing.
The two had seemed to be living an idyllic and lavish life in a ranch-style home in West Long Branch, NJ. A registered nurse, Ann was a stay-at-home mom while Arthur earned upward of $500,000 a year running a loan business in Asbury Park, blocks away from the Stone Pony, the legendary venue where Springsteen first made his name.
Ann splurged on her physical appearance, her husband says in court records -- laying out cash for Botox, anti-aging laser treatments, breast implants and a personal trainer.
Bruce apparently noticed the primping. Despite warnings from Ann's father and marriage counseling, the romance heated up.
Springsteen seemed smitten -- Arthur alleges in court papers that The Boss told Ann that he thought about her while he was on tour.
There were other signs, Arthur says. In 2007 and 2008, unsigned Valentine's Day cards without stamps or postmarks showed up in the Kellys' mailbox in West Long Branch.
Springsteen personally gave Ann front-row tickets to concert rehearsals on Sept. 24 and 25, 2007, for his "Magic Tour" shows at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park. Ann was so floored by The Boss' crooning, she allegedly told Arthur's mother, "It felt like Bruce Springsteen was singing to me."
In 2008, Ann allegedly opted to be with Springsteen rather than her ailing husband. While Arthur had open-heart surgery in Cleveland, the singer joined her at a table at the Turning Point restaurant in Pier Village in Long Branch.
As part of the divorce settlement, Arthur took the adultery claim out of his petition and both parties agreed not to talk to the media. At her West Long Branch home last week, Ann declined to comment to The Post. In past divorce filings, she has denied a sexual relationship with Springsteen. However, during a deposition over the summer, she declined to answer any questions about the singer, court papers show.
The breaking point in the marriage allegedly came when Arthur told Ann a witness had spotted her kissing Springsteen in the parking lot of their gym. Arthur also claimed that the day before he filed for divorce, Ann admitted to him that her "relationship with Bruce Springsteen was inappropriate."
Arthur did not return calls for comment.
A spokeswoman for Springsteen declined to comment. However, a friend of The Boss said, "Bruce and Patti continue to have a terrific marriage and are very devoted to each other and their children."
