Bill Clinton has blamed presidential pressures and his anxieties for his infamous affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
The former US president made the candid remarks about the late 90s scandal in a new documentary series 'Hillary" which mostly focuses on his wife's 2016 presidential bid.
Mr Clinton was impeached in 1998 for lying to investigators about his relationship with Ms Lewinsky, who at the time was a 22-year-old intern at the White House, the BBC reports.
"What I did was bad but it wasn't like I thought, let's think about the most stupid thing I could possibly do and do it,” Mr Clinton told documentary makers Hulu.
"You feel like you're staggering around - you've been in a 15-round prize-fight that was extended to 30 rounds, and here's something that'll take your mind off it for a while. Everybody has life's pressures and disappointments and terrors, fears or whatever, things I did to manage my anxieties for years."
Mr Clinton's response at the time to the media - "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" - has gone down as one of US politics' most memorable quotes.
Ms Lewinsky has always maintained the relationship was consensual but has said it was a "gross abuse of power" and regrets the affair on a daily basis.
Mr Clinton says in the documentary he feels "terrible" that Ms Lewinsky's life was defined by their relationship.
"Over the years I've tried to watch her get a normal life back again but you've got to decide how to define normal," he said.
When asked about the incident, Hillary Clinton explained how devastated she was.
"I was so personally, just hurt and I can't believe this, I can't believe you lied. It was horrible and I said if this is going to be public, you have to go tell Chelsea."
Mrs Clinton described how she "didn't want anything to do with him" after news of the affair broke.
"I made a decision to stay with my husband. I think some people thought I made the right decision and some people thought I made the wrong decision.”
SHARE ME