Ex-Girlfriend: Balloon Drama a Hoax

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Richard Heene's ex-girlfriend believes that Thursday's balloon incident was an elaborate hoax staged by Heene.

"I don't put it past him,"  Tina Gaza told the the Northwest Florida Daily News . "And now he thinks he's a scientist. I really believe he staged it all."

Gaza said she and Heene dated for five years in the '90s and moved from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles so he could pursue a career in Hollywood.

"He wanted to be in show business," she told the NWF Daily News. "He went and got headshots as soon as we got there. Then he started selling [his comedy CD] 'Offensive Driving.'"

Gaza said Heene had no interest in the weather when they were dating, but now he describes himself as a storm chaser.

"He's just a wacky guy," Gaza said. "It's funny because back then he was all about being an actor. He had no interest in weather. ... These are antics that are right up his alley."

The Heene family captivated the nation this week after Heene's 6-year-old son, Falcon, reportedly became trapped inside a flyer saucer-like balloon . The boy was later found in his family's garage attic.

Comments made by Falcon during a interview on CNN Friday gave rise to the idea that the family could have been planning the balloon incident as a hoax to get attention .

"You said we did this for a show," Falcon said to his parents during the interview, after his father asked why he didn't come down from the attic earlier.

Heene said he would have a "big announcement" in a press conference planned for Saturday morning, but when he emerged from the house and came to microphones, he said only that he was putting a cardboard box outside the door to take written questions. He said he'd answer the questions Saturday evening.