ALBANY, N.Y. -- A day after taking over for a governor brought down by a sex scandal, David Paterson is spending part of his first full day on the job answering questions about his love life.

Video: Paterson Reveals Affairs | Who Is Paterson?

The 53-year-old Democrat admitted Tuesday to having affairs with several women.

The governor, who was sworn into office Monday, added that he does not feel that he has broken his "commitment to the people of New York state." He said he broke no laws while conducting the affairs.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon in Albany, the governor and his wife, Michelle, were peppered with questions about the marital issues first revealed by the couple in an interview Monday with the New York Daily News.

The governor revealed that he had affairs with several women, including a state employee, since about 1999. He insisted that he did not advance the state worker's career and that he didn't spend campaign money or state money on his affairs.

"I betrayed a commitment to my wife several years ago," Paterson said at the news conference. "I was angry, I was jealous, and I exercised poor judgment."

That was the beginning of what the Patersons said was a rocky stretch of their 15-year marriage. Michelle Paige Paterson said she also had affairs during that same time. She said they were able to right their marriage by admitting their infidelity and dealing with it "as a family."

Paterson said he didn't reveal his affairs during the time he was a state senator, Senate minority leader or lieutenant governor because no one asked him about them. He said he came forward now because he didn't want the rumors to cloud his governorship.

Despite the admission, Paterson was adamant that love remains in his marriage.

"We were very much in love with each other when we got married, and we're very much in love with each other now," he said.

Paterson rose from the lieutenant governor's office after Eliot Spitzer resigned last week amid allegations that he hired a call girl from a high-priced escort service.