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Letterman apologizes to wife on his show
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-07 14:28

NEW YORK: David Letterman, days after revealing on air that he'd been sexually involved with women from his television program, apologized to his wife on Monday's Late Show, saying she had been "horribly hurt by my behavior" and stating flat-out those affairs "are in the past".

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The CBS late-night host, building on Thursday's startling confessional, vowed to repair his relationship with his wife, Regina Lasko, whom he married in March after a years-long courtship. "Let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me," he said ruefully.

As Letterman faced Monday's show, and the shows that will come after, it was clear that how he deals with his messy situation could prove to be a defining chapter in his long TV career. And, ironically, it could clinch his recent ratings victory in late-night TV.

Monday's show was the first Letterman had taped since Thursday, when he disclosed that he had had sexual relationships with women who worked for him and said that he had been the victim of a $2 million blackmail threat.

During the hour, he also apologized to his staff, which, he said, had been subjected to "being browbeaten and humiliated" by reporters since his revelations.

"My thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I've gotten myself involved in," he said.

Letterman, 62, began dating Lasko in 1986, and they have a son, Harry, who was born in November 2003. All the affairs took place before Letterman's marriage, said Tom Keaney, spokesman for Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants.

AP