Which bit was fake? The ass-kissing, bragging about their close friendship or desperately clinging to any crumb of attention she could give him?
Let's not pretend like it really benefited her in any way to feature in his TV show. A bit of promo at best. It was obviously done as a favour to help him out.
Are we really supposed to believe he didn't actually like her and he was using her for attention? His obsessive coverage since 2008 kind of makes me skeptical.