Katherine Heigl used John Mayer friendship to make future husband commit

Actress Katherine Heigl once tried to make singer Josh Kelley jealous by suggesting she was interested in dating rocker John Mayer.

The Knocked Up star reveals she told a little white lie to Kelley early on in their relationship in a bid to push him to commit and officially make her his girlfriend.

In an interview on America's The Meredith Vieira Show, which airs on Monday (24Nov14), she explains, "Around the same time I met Josh, I also met John Mayer. John Mayer and I are from neighboring towns and knew some of the same people. My Josh had gone off on tour and was playing hard to get. So I didn't know - are we a thing? Are we a couple?"

Heigl, who met Kelley in 2005 when she was cast as his love interest in his Only You video, claims there was never anything romantic about her friendship with Mayer, but she had no problem playing up the prospect with the man who would later become her husband.

She continues, "These musicians, they are competitive and jealous of each other. (So) over the phone, because he was on tour, I was like, 'Josh, I've got to be honest. I just want to know where we stand because if not, I might try to pursue something with John.'"

Her ploy worked and the couple started properly dating, before marrying in 2009.

She adds, "(I confessed) probably a year into our marriage. I was like, 'You got played!'"

Mayer is known for his high-profile romances after previously dating famous females including Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.