Monica Lewinsky has admitted she loved Bill Clinton as she reflected on the high-profile scandal that launched her into the public eye thirty years ago.
The 51-year-old made global headlines after being embroiled in a scandalous affair with the then-President Bill Clinton.
And now the American activist has admitted it did feel like love at the time but recognised it was also an abuse of power.
Speaking candidly on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How To Fail Monica explained: ‘It was 22 to 24-year-old young woman’s love.
‘I think there was some limerence there and all sorts of other things, but that’s how I saw it then. I think it was also an abuse of power.’
Monica also reflected on how a ‘bimbo’ narrative was then forced upon her by the White House, despite her acquiring the job on her own merit before her affair with Bill began.
Monica Lewinsky has revealed whether she loved Bill Clinton and reflected on the ‘abuse of power’ and ‘Bimbo’ narrative that was forced upon her in latest podcast
The 51-year-old made global headlines after being embroiled in a scandalous affair with the then-President Bill Clinton. She was 22 and he was 49 at the time
She explained: ‘My very first job out of college was working in the White House. I don’t think that that’s the kind of trajectory that someone thinks then 10, 12 years later, that person’s not going to be able to get hired.
‘Then I worked in the Pentagon as well and travelled the world with my boss, who is the Pentagon spokesman, and we travelled with the Secretary of Defense.
‘I’m by no means a genius, by no means going to be the cream of the crop but I wasn’t a bimbo. I wasn’t a dumb bimbo.
‘So I was portrayed to be, and that was a big struggle for me to deal with that.’
Elizabeth added: ‘And you were often portrayed as that by other women.’
‘Often by other women,’ added Monica ‘but I think that that was a narrative that was crafted and put out by the White House so I think that mantle was picked up by a lot of women.’
Monica’s infamous affair with former president Clinton eventually led to his impeachment.
On August 17, 1998, after multiple denials, the former leader appeared on television and finally confessed he was ‘solely and completely responsible’ for the relationship.
She insisted: ”I’m by no means a genius, by no means going to be the cream of the crop but I wasn’t a bimbo. I wasn’t a dumb bimbo. ‘So I was portrayed to be, and that was a big struggle for me to deal with that’
Monica has talked about the affair numerous times since it was made public.
She initially retreated from the public eye, admitting she was left feeling suicidal after being hounded by reporters and ridiculed on talk shows.
And Monica also confessed she wished she had a normal life instead, as host Elizabeth asked: ‘If you could take away this period of your life where you were unable to be anonymous, you were unable to get the job that you deserved because of what happened. Would you take it away?’
‘Oh, sure,’ replied Monica, ‘I love and appreciate who I am now, but I think for so many different reasons, I would’ve liked a more normal life. I would’ve liked to have had a more normal trajectory.’
Monica recently shed light on having ‘lost her future’ after becoming notoriously famous for her affair with Bill Clinton during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
The chat with host Alex Cooper delved into what Lewinsky experienced in the fallout from the most famous extramarital relationship in American history.
Alex framed the situation: ‘You were 22 years old, he was 49, you were an intern. he was the president of the United States.’
Monica then said: ‘I was very quickly painted as a stalker, mentally unstable, not attractive enough.’
Monica’s infamous affair with former president Clinton eventually led to his impeachment. In 1998, after multiple denials, he finally confessed he was ‘solely and completely responsible’ for the relationship (pictured in November)
She now realises her mistakes and how it cast a negative view of both herself and other women.
‘Because of the power dynamics, and the power differential, I never should’ve been in that f***ing position,’ she told Cooper.
‘There was so much collateral damage for women of my generation to watch a young woman to be pilloried on the world stage, to be torn apart for my sexuality, for my mistakes, for my everything.’
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day is available wherever you get your podcasts.