VIDEO: Jesse James On Sandra Bullock: "I Still Really Love Her"

May 24 2010, Published 9:37 a.m. ET

Jesse James told ABC News that he still really loves his estranged wife Sandra Bullock, in the West Coast Choppers owner’s first interview following the huge cheating scandal that erupted this spring shortly after Bullock won the best actress Oscar for her work in The Blind Side.

Watch the video on RadarOnline.com

When asked by ABC's Vicki Mabrey how he could cheat on Bullock, who was still gushing about her marriage at this year's Golden Globe Awards and the SAG Awards, James said "it's hard for me to talk about, a little bit, because I still really love her and care about her."

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James told Mabrey, "I've spent my whole life with the kids and with her trying to... protect her from everything, but the most hurt she's ever been caused is by the person that wanted to protect her -- it's terrible, and she's going to be hurt for a long time."

In the interview, James said that at one point, he was so wrought with guilt over his actions he was actually hoping he'd be found out.

"When I was doing it, you know, one, I knew it was horrible, it made me feel horrible," James said. "And two, I knew I would get caught eventually, and I think I wanted to get caught. I know for a fact now what it was, you know. I mean, it was me trying to self-sabotage my life."

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As RadarOnline.com has previosuly reported, following the scandal's outbreak, James spent a month at Sierra Tucson Rehab Facility in Arizona to treat his sex addiction; Bullock, who's filed for divorce, announced she's going through with the plans the couple had made to adopt a baby boy from New Orleans, Louisiana named Louis Bardot.

Bullock said in court documents she filed in Texas that her divorce is "because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any hope of reconciliation."

Other topics covered in the piece, according to the network, include James explaining his past, what compelled him to cheat on Bullock and what, if any, role he will play in Louis Bardot's upbringing.

Parts of the interview will air Tuesday, May 25 on Good Morning America, and the full chat will air on a special edition of ABC's Nightline that evening at 11:35/10:35c.