Barbara Walters Exclusive: Peter Cook on Affair

"My hope is that the world will see that I'm not the scum bag pervert that I've been painted to be," he said. "The misinformation that came out during the trial is the elephant in the room. It's the elephant in the room for my kids. And I'm hoping maybe if I can correct some of the wrongs."

Peter Cook, the ex-husband of Christie Brinkley, speaks for the first time since his headline-making divorce in an interview with Barbara Walters. Watch Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET.

(Rob Wallace/ABC News)

When asked whether he wanted his ex-wife to see the interview, Cook said, "I don't think I can avoid that. But I think if she does, what I hope comes of it is that she takes the time to heal herself. And she goes back and remembers that I made a mistake, but that I am that person that she wrote the poems about, that she raved about in magazine articles and anybody who she could get … twist their ear to listen. I am that person today, that I was then."

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For much more of Walters' interview with Cook, watch "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. ET