Monster Garage star Jesse James gave a teary interview on Tuesday to apologize to the world for cheating on America's Fun Aunt, actress Sandra Bullock. We also learned he's not a sex addict—"at least in the traditional sense."

Nightline scored the Jesse James apology interview, which aired on Tuesday night. James was upfront and apologetic, calling himself "the world's most hated man," which is probably not true, unless I am really out of touch with the world. He said he wanted to give the interview mostly because of the whole thing with photos of him giving a Nazi salute:

"It makes me really sad seeing the photo and the way I look. I don't even remember taking the photo. But it was just—I can tell by the look on my face it was a joke. That was funny then, probably for a minute. But then looking at it in the context of now and my life, it's not funny"

Just, FYI, to everyone: There is almost no "context" where "pretending to be a Nazi" is funny! Especially not when you are banging a girl with a "White Power" tattoo.

More soberingly, James said that his repeated infidelities were the product of an abusive childhood that left him with abandonment issues:

"I grew up with a huge amount of shame and fear and abandonment on my shoulders from a very young age and I think, you know, the way my mind rationalized [cheating], 'Well, you know, I might as well do whatever I can to like run her off cause she is going to find out what I am anyway and leave me anyway,'"

Apparently needing a break, James checked into rehab in March. He says he's not actually a sex addict, though:

"I don't think I have a sex addiction where I'm running around trying to have sex with everyone and I can't stop... I think I do things to sabotage my life, including having extramarital affairs, texting, overworking myself, injuring myself, doing stunts and stupid things. I think I do a lot of things in my life that I shouldn't be doing that aren't conducive to being a perfect husband, you know, and the affairs are just one of them."

So there you have it: Not a Nazi, not a sex addict, just a guy with some issues making regrettable decisions.

[ABC]