Hulu recently released a documentary series about former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which touches on many aspects of her life, including her husband’s affair. In the series, Bill Clinton‘s relationship with Monica Lewinsky is addressed, with the ex-president saying that he feels “terrible” over how the former intern was treated.
“Monica Lewinsky’s life was defined by it, unfairly I think,” Bill said. “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.”
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The infamous affair first came to light in 1998, after Bill had previously denied it, with the situation eventually leading to an impeachment trial.
“We all bring our baggage to life and sometimes we do things we shouldn’t do. It was awful what I did,” he said in the documentary.
Commenting on how she felt about initially finding out what had taken place, his wife and former presidential nominee, Clinton said she was “just so personally hurt.”
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you lied,” she said in the documentary.
Bill then went on to reveal what his wife said next, which was even more difficult for him as it involved telling the truth to his daughter, Chelsea.
“[Hillary] said you have to go tell your daughter — that’s worse than me,” the former president said. “So I did that, which was awful.”
As for why he got himself into the affair in the first place, Bill blamed it on the stress of being the United States president. “You’ve been in a 15 round prize fight that was extended to 30 rounds, and here is something that will take your mind off of it for awhile,” he said.
Bill added: “Everybody’s life has pressures and disappointments and terrors, fears of whatever. The things I did to manage my anxieties for years — I’m a totally different person than I was.”
Clinton discussed her choice to stand by her husband: “I defended and stood by him because I thought the impeachment process was wrong, but that wasn’t the necessary answer to what I would do with my marriage.”
Notably, she previously spoke with Ellen DeGeneres about why she agreed to do the documentary and relive that painful time in her life.
“It was a really emotionally draining experience to go through it again, but I have to say, once I saw the whole four hours of the documentary, I hope that our talking about this, my willingness to address all of this, really does help other people,” she told the daytime talk show host.
“People need to be thoughtful about the decisions they make in their own lives, and we should be kinder and more supportive to everybody who makes the best decisions that they think they can make,” she added.
The four-part documentary series, titled Hillary, is now streaming on Hulu.
