Alleged Clay Aiken Lover Apologizes for Selling Story  6/19/06

The man who boasted about allegedly having a one-night stand with American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken "regrets" selling his story.

John Paulus, a former Green Beret, told American tabloid The National Enquirer he had sex with Aiken after the wholesome singer, who had seen his ad on a gay website, contacted him in December (05).

The accusations sparked outrage from American Idol judge Simon Cowell who rubbished the story as just "rumors" when it was published in March (06).

But now Paulus claims on a web blog he is sorry for the scandal his story caused Aiken and insists he even took legal steps in a bid to stop it being published.

Paulus writes, "I regret defying the trust of Clay.

"I regret hurting him, his family and his fans; I regret that I started a blog that ridiculed him. I apologize to Clay for that and I hope he will accept."

Editors at the National Enquirer have rubbished his apology and deny receiving a cease-and-desist letter to stop the kiss-and-tell hitting newsstands.

National Enquirer editor David Perel tells website The Scoop, "(Paulus is) completely distorting the story. It's not a situation where he told the story one time.

"He engaged in multiple conversations with our reporter. He couldn't stop talking, and then he talked to reporters after it was out."