Former US President, Bill Clinton has revealed that he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky to help cope with the anxieties of office.
He made the revelation in a new documentary about his wife titled ‘Hilary’.
The film talks about the former first lady and 2016 Democratic nominee’s life and career. In the film, Hillary Clinton also describes how”devastated” she was during that time in her life, but defends her decision to stay with her husband.
Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, then a 22-year-old White House intern. The affair caused a major strain on his marriage and nearly brought down his presidency.
The two began an affair in November 1995. It continued for years before it came to light in early 1998 when a co-worker Lewinsky had confided in went public with the news.
Clinton at the time strongly denied the affair, insisting, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.” He was eventually impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath, though he was acquitted by the Senate.
“I thought how I could think about the most stupid thing to do and do it,” Clinton says in the documentary.
He added: “We all bring our baggage to life and sometimes we do things we shouldn’t do. It was awful what I did.
“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 will take your mind off it for a while, that’s what happens.
“Everybody’s life has pressures and disappointments, terrors, fears of whatever, Things I did to manage my anxieties for years.
“I’m a different, totally different person than I was, a lot of that stuff was 20 years ago.”
Clinton went on to talk about coming clean to his wife after initially lying to her about the affair.
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“I went and sat on the bed and talked to her. I told her exactly what happened, when it happened. I said I feel terrible about it,” he continued. “We’ve been through quite a bit in the last few years. I said I have no defense, it’s inexcusable what I did.”
The couple chose to stay together and went through some rough marriage counseling to work out their issues.
Clinton added: “I feel terrible about the fact that Monica Lewinsky’s life was defined by it, unfairly I think,
“Over the years I’ve watched her trying to get a normal life back again but you’ve got to decide how to define normal.”
The documentary is set to premiere on Hulu this Friday.
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