Patersons reveal they've had affairs

ALBANY, N.Y., March 18 (UPI) -- David Paterson, who just gained the New York governorship through a sex scandal, and his wife revealed to the New York Daily News they've had affairs.

Paterson and his wife Michelle said in a joint interview the extra-marital relationships occurred several years ago when their marriage was going through a rough stretch, the Daily News reported online Monday night.

In initial interviews in the past week, Paterson, 53, said that starting in 1999 he had a relationship with "a woman other than my wife" that lasted for two or three years -- a time, he said, when his marriage "appeared to be going sour," the newspaper reported.

His 46-year-old wife then confirmed his account Monday shortly after Paterson was sworn in to replace Eliot Spitzer, who resigned after reports he cavorted with expensive prostitutes. The article provided no details of her dalliance.

"Like most marriages, you go through certain difficult periods," Michelle Paterson said. "What's important is for your kids to see you worked them out."