Bill Clinton reveals why he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky
Bill Clinton claims that his affair with Monica Lewinsky was one of the “things I did to manage my anxieties”.
In a tell-all documentary, the former President revealed that the reason behind his affair with the ex-White House intern while he was in office was because it helped him with issues he was dealing with at the time.
Bill said that at the time he met Lewinsky, the pressure of the job made him feel like a boxer who had done 30 rounds and he looked at Lewinsky as “something that will take your mind off it for a little while”.
He makes the claims in an interview featured in the new documentary series about his wife Hillary Clinton, called Hillary, where the former First Lady and Secretary of State candidly reveals that in the aftermath of the scandal the couple underwent “painful” marriage counselling.
Bill apologised to Lewinsky in the documentary that is set to premiere on Friday and says he felt “terrible” that her life was defined by the affair.
But he said that at some point when things don’t return to normal "you’ve got to decide how to define normal", suggesting the former intern should just move on.
The scandal resulted in Bill being impeached in 1998. But he survived the trial in the Senate and remained in office during his second term.
His hand was forced in 1998 when it became clear that he had lied to a grand jury which was investigating his personal affairs by denying the affair.
Bill had also lied to Hillary, and she believed him.
He said in the interview: “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. We’ve been through quite a bit in the last few years. I said I have no defence, it’s inexcusable what I did”.
Hillary told the cameras: “I was just devastated. I could not believe it. I was so personally just hurt and I can’t believe this, I can’t believe you lied.”
Hillary then told her husband that he was the one who had to come clean to their daughter Chelsea, who was 18 at the time. He said it was worse than telling his wife and he said that doing so was “awful”.