Letterman Sees Psychiatrist, Talks Rivalry With Leno in Oprah Interview
David Letterman has revealed that he sees a psychiatrist once a week in a shocking admission to Oprah Winfrey recently.
The iconic television host and comedian answered tough questions about his extramarital affairs, the feud with Jay Leno, and his struggle with depression while appearing on "Oprah's Next Chapter" in an episode that aired Sunday night.
During an extortion scandal in 2009 where a television producer threatened Letterman for money, the talk show host was forced to go public with his extramarital relationships.
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Furthermore, the emergence of his affairs sunk Letterman into a deep depression that he could not recover from on his own. The comedian noted that he was able to "push through" and improve himself with medication and psychiatry.
"For a long time I thought I was a decent guy," Letterman told Winfrey, via Entertainment Weekly. "But yet, thinking I was a decent guy, I was still capable of behavior that wasn't coincidental to leading a decent life. That's what I'm working on. I want to really be the person I believe that I was. I wanna be a good person."
"I have no one to blame but myself," Letterman added before explaining that although he "hurt a lot of people," he has weathered the storm.
"I feel better about myself, my relationship with my wife is never better, and it's just because I want to be the person I always thought I was and probably was pretending I was," said the "Late Show" host.
Letterman told Winmfrey that his wife Regina has forgiven him, but that he has not forgiven himself, an Associated Press report noted.
As for Jay Leno, Letterman said the fellow talk show host is "the funniest guy I've ever known," as well as the "most insecure."
Watch a clip from the interview with Letterman on YouTube here.
The comedian added that the bickering between the two is just the type of banter that goes on between comics.
The interview on Winfrey's OWN network was recorded in November, and it will air again on Jan. 20.
