Dad is always the last one to know.
The father of Tiki Barber’s young blond mistress unwittingly bragged to friends that she baby-sat for the ex-Giant’s kids — and that Barber then helped land her an internship on the “Today” show, a neighbor told The Post yesterday.
Earnest Johnson’s proud boasts made daughter Traci Lynn Johnson look good to neighbors at the time.
But the world was looking at Traci, 23, in a new light yesterday after The Post exclusively revealed that she is the long-tressed temptress who lured Barber away from his beautiful wife, Ginny — who is eight months pregnant with their twins.
PAGE SIX: FOX NEWS CHANNEL NIXED TIKI BARBER’S RETURN
“I heard from Ernie that Traci baby-sat for Tiki, and he put in a word for her at the ‘Today’ show,” said the neighbor, who lived next to the Johnson family in upstate Pine Bush. “I said, ‘Wow!’ ”
Barber has two sons with Ginny: A.J., 7, and 6-year-old Chason — but he moved out of the family’s Upper East Side home late last year after his wife learned of his stunning philandering.
Barber, who has worked for NBC since retiring from the Giants in 2007, and Ginny each have retained high-powered matrimonial lawyers, but no divorce papers have yet been filed.
A source who knew Traci Johnson at Mount St. Mary College in upstate Newburgh said that Barber won her heart more than two years ago — and that the former star running back isn’t shy about lavishing her with gifts.
“On her 21st birthday, he sent her 21 dozen roses to her dorm. He also gave her a diamond and sapphire bracelet,” the source said. “At this point, she had a boyfriend, and told him that she and Tiki were ‘just friends,’ but nobody bought it.
“He gave her and her friends [Giants] jerseys for them to dress up in on Halloween . . . He would shower her with designer handbags and expensive clothes.”
The source said “he came to the school, and she introduced him to her friends.
“At first, we thought he was a nice, sweet guy. Really warm and friendly.
“But once we realized what was going on, we were disgusted. We never expected him to be so disrespectful to his wife.
“One night, he sneaked into her dorm and stayed over the night,” the source said. “The next day, Traci didn’t want to let him out of her room to use the bathroom because she was worried someone would see him and catch them.
“Traci said that she didn’t expect him to leave his wife, and that [Ginny] was so pretty.”
Another former college classmate of Johnson said, “She was not shy about their relationship.”
“She also used to tote around the little white dog that he bought for her,” that source said.
Barber, who turned 35 yesterday, has refused to comment about his relationship with Johnson.
But a source close to the gridiron great adamantly denied that he was more than just “friends” with Johnson while she was at Mount St. Mary, where she received a degree in 2008.
And, “She absolutely, positively, never baby-sat the kids,” said the source, adding that Barber did not help her get the “Today” show gig.
“They were friends in 2008,” the source said. “He did not spend the night” at her dorm.
The source, while not denying Johnson’s current romantic relationship with Barber or that it busted up his marriage, adamantly denied that the football star ever lavished gifts on her.
“There were never roses, there were never bracelets, there were never dogs,” the source said.
A business partner who has known Barber for 15 years also disputed the claims that the Giants standout purchased valuable gifts for Johnson, or that she ever baby-sat for his children.
“They’re just nauseating lies,” the partner said.
Despite those denials, Barber clearly took more than a casual interest in Johnson as far back as 2008.
Multiple sources — including a Mount St. Mary spokesman — said Johnson’s senior project was about Barber’s line of children’s books.
Because of her project, Barber was invited by Mount St. Mary in the spring of 2008 to speak about his football career and retirement. He was also feted with a steak dinner attended by Johnson, other students and faculty.
Barber autographed footballs and copies of his children’s books at the event.
A source close to Barber noted that Johnson’s then-boyfriend was at the dinner that night, and that the boyfriend had also worked on the project with her.
But it wasn’t only Johnson’s college classmates whose eyebrows were raised about her “friendship” with Barber.
A source who knows her said that “while she was interning at the ‘Today’ show, Traci’s direct boss, a producer, noticed that she was going out for lunch with Tiki. Traci’s boss told her, ‘What do you think you’re doing? You’re just an intern. I don’t want you going out to lunch with him in public.’
“Traci was annoyed, but she realized she’d have to be more secretive if she wanted to see him.”
Although Barber’s camp refuses to say when his friendship with Johnson turned into more, the couple was spotted together at the upscale restaurant Nina’s in upstate Middletown last November with another couple.
“His wife is Asian and the woman he was with was definitely not Asian. It was that woman,” said the waiter who served them there, pointing to the cover of yesterday’s Post, which featured Johnson’s picture.
A source in New York’s nightlife scene said, “Tiki has always been a family man, but in the last nine months he’s been showing up around town with Traci.
“She’s a wild party girl, and is often out all night with all her girlfriends. When they go out for dinners he takes care of it,” the source said. “And she tells everyone he pays her rent.”
“He seems pretty hooked by Traci. She knows it, and is making the most of it.”
Sources close to Barber denied that he has paid her rent.
Still, Johnson has risen to a much different social level than she knew as a teen in rural Pine Bush, and in a recent Facebook posting described Barber as an “amazing bf” — boyfriend.
She recently attended the Winter Olympics with Barber — who introduced her as his “assistant” — and also traveled to the African nation of Senegal with him.
One source said that during her trips with Barber, Johnson was “very quiet, very meek, and walked around with a backpack that made her look like she was 17!”
Johnson’s glamorous lifestyle with Barber stands in stark contrast with that of her parents, Earnest and Doreen, who lost their modest Pine Bush home to foreclosure in January.
Earnest operates Johnson’s Land Surveying, while Doreen until last year worked in the office of a local law firm.
A high-school classmate of Johnson called her a “a very nice person, very good-hearted person.”
“She’s a real sweetheart,” said the classmate of Johnson, who was elected her school’s homecoming “princess.”
A former Johnson-family neighbor said, “She’s a wonderful girl. Always presented herself well. She was always courteous and considerate and always took time to say hello.”
Ginny Barber’s top matrimonial lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, yesterday said, “I really have no comment” when asked about the scandal. Asked if Ginny would sue for divorce, she said, “I can’t answer that.”
Tiki’s lawyer, Arlene Dubin — the author of the book “Prenups for Lovers: A Romantic Guide to Prenuptial Agreements” — did not return a call seeking comment.