Bill Clinton says he had affair with Monica Lewinsky to ‘manage anxieties’ as president
- Former US leader opens up on sexual relationship with then White House intern in interview for documentary series on Hillary Clinton
- Affair and subsequent denial under oath led to his impeachment in December 1998
Bill Clinton said he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky to help him deal with the stress of being president as he opened up in a documentary released Friday about the scandal that led to his impeachment.
In the four-part Hulu series, Clinton says his sexual relationship with the then White House intern was a means “to manage my anxieties”, and that he felt “terrible” the affair came to define Lewinsky’s life.
“It was awful what I did,” added the 73-year-old. “We all bring our baggage to life and sometimes we do things we shouldn’t do.”
Clinton described the affair as motivated by life’s “pressure and disappointments and terrors, fears of whatever, things I did to manage my anxieties for years”.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were interviewed separately about what they recall from that time for the series entitled Hillary, focused on the life of the former first lady.