Oracle CEO Charles Phillips shamed into admitting affair with YaVaughnie Wilkins

Remember those fake scorned woman billboards that appeared in cities across America a few years ago addressing a cheating man named Steve from his wife Emily? (I paid for these from our joint checking account?)

Ya’Vaughnie (God, I hope someone prosecuted her parents for that) Wilkins may have been inspired by the viral stunt if her supposed act of retaliation against Oracle CEO Charles Phillips is any indication. The story broke on Gawker yesterday morning, with a post about the three billboards in central locations around Manhattan and their possible purpose. Who was YaVaughnie, and what was her relation to married with a young child Charles? Is YaVaughnie some corruption of “Yvonne”? These questioned needed answered, as they say in the midwest.

The billboards directed people to a website (soon crashed) showing the Oracle exec in a frickload of pictures with the clearly-not-his-wife woman, frolicking in states of undress on a boat and at several events. Subsequent digging by Gawker indicated the other woman and Phillips even owned property together. Phillips admitted in a statement yesterday that he did indeed have an affair with Wilkins, but that the pair “wished each other well” and the affair was no longer.

So why does she have him on blast? Unless the person behind the campaign is… his wife? We still don’t know. Here’s what Phillips said yesterday:

“I had an 8½ year serious relationship with YaVaughnie Wilkins,” Phillips said in a statement provided to NBC Bay Area by an Oracle spokeswoman. “My divorce proceedings began in 2008. The relationship with Ms. Wilkins has since ended and we both wish each other well.”

Whoever bought the ad space isn’t playing, however. In addition to being prominently placed in expensive locations like Times Square, the billboards are also timed to coincide with an Oracle event that is huge for the company:

What’s more, these billboards seem calculated to sabotage a major Oracle event Phillips will likely be speaking at: On January 27th (The same day Apple will or will not unveil the tablet), Oracle will host an “all-day live event” at its headquarters following the announcement that the EU has approved Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Devious!

Ouch. It’s assumed the party or parties responsible will be revealed eventually, but as of now the mystery billboard benefactor remains masked.