Updated on Dec. 2 at 5:15 p.m. ET: Women for Herman Cain Web site Launched After Ginger White Allegations

Ginger White said Thursday that she was deeply sorry for the pain she has caused Gloria Cain and her family, and stuck by her assertions that her 13-year affair with GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain was a sexual one whose revealing had nothing to do with money.

The Atlanta businesswoman came forward this week to allege an ongoing affair that only ended when Cain began his run for president.

She spent much of her interview with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC's The Last Word, however, addressing Gloria Cain, a woman whose absence on the campaign trail and silence on Herman Cain's various sex scandals have been prodigiously noted and commented upon.

'I am not a cold-hearted person.'

At the beginning of the interview, Ginger White had been ready to discuss Herman Cain, not his wife, and especially to comment on whether or not he would stay in the race. O'Donnell surprised her, however, by asking instead about the candidate's elusive spouse.

What would you say to Mrs. Cain? O'Donnell said. Taken aback, White initially replied no comment. Before the commercial break, however, she led the conversation back to Gloria.

You asked me what I would say to Mrs. Cain? Ginger White repeated, saying the question took her aback. You are the first person to ask me that.

She then proceeded to give a heartfelt apology to the GOP primary candidate's spouse, saying she understood how difficult the situation must be for her.

I am not a cold-hearted person, she said. My heart bleeds for this woman because I am a woman, and being in a situation like this cannot be fun. And I am deeply, deeply sorry if I have caused any hurt to her or to his kids, to his family.

White herself is the mother of a 20-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son. I never wanted to hurt anyone, she told O'Donnell. I'm deeply sorry.

'I would never lie about that.'

As for the reasons why she came forward in the first place, Ginger White continues to insist that her hand was forced, and that she received no money for her revelations.

As with those women involved in the POLITICO sexual harassment scandal Cain found him embroiled in last moth, Ginger White has had her personal and financial background thoroughly combed, with many in the pro-Cain camp pointing to a history of civil judgments and years of shaky credit to cast aspersions on her character.

Although White did admit that Herman Cain helped her financially, she rejected the idea that the two of them were platonic friends, as Cain has alleged, or that she is accepting money to lie about the 13-year affair. White called both statements very hurtful and saying that it bothers her to think he would still try and disguise their relationship.

I would never come out with something like this if I wasn't telling the truth, she asserted. I know that travel was involved and sex was involved. I would never lie about that.

'Mommy really screwed up.'

Ginger White had, in fact, never intended to come forward at all. During the MSNBC interview, she confirmed that the only reason she went to the media was that the media had found her first. There was a leak, several leaks about her relationship with Herman Cain,and a local news station was already planning to run with the story when she came forward.

With other local stations calling her home and trying to schedule an interview, White told O'Donnell that she decided the time had come to step forward, so that when her private life was thrown out there she would at least have some say in how she was portrayed.

As evidence for her reluctance to reveal the affair, she cites one of the worst moments of the entire reveal: having to tell her two children what she had done.

You know what? she said in recalling her conversation with her son and daughter. Mommy really screwed up.

And although she revealed the 13-year affair in the middle of Cain's run for the Republican nomination, Ginger White continues to assert that her motivations are not political. In an interview with ABC, White had said she thought Herman Cain would not make a good president.

This had never been political, she said. This has been a very, very difficult situation for me, for my family, his family. It's been very tough... It was very hard for me to come out with this and 'fess up to something that I had done. I'm pretty straightforward and have a conscience.

'Herman knows what he wants.'

Along with her apology to Gloria Cain and her regret at the way the affair played out, White also offered some insight into Herman Cain, especially her opinion on whether or not he would continue his run for the presidency. In an earlier interview, Cain had said he would talk with his wife over the weekend.

Though Cain continues to insist the affair never happened, he admitted that Gloria Cain didn't know who Ginger White was, nor that he was providing her with financial assistance.

Herman is definitely a guy who knows what he wants, and he goes after it, Ginger White said. She had previously described Cain as an intelligent and fun-loving man who helped her escape from a humdrum life.

She also made sure to emphasize that their relationship, though also rooted in friendship, was primarily a physical one. It wasn't a love affair, White said. It was a sexual affair.

Unlikely to Quit Race

When discussing whether Cain would quit the race, Ginger White expressed doubts, saying she'd never seen him as a quitter. She also said it was highly unlikely the GOP presidential hopeful would succumb to the pressure of his rivals or his family.

I'd be really surprised if there was ever any situation that someone else called the shots for him, she said on The Last Word.

She noted, along with O'Donnell, how Cain managed to control the decision of whether her would leave the race even as he insisted that he would consult with his wife.

In an interview with ABC News, Cain had said he would quit if wife Gloria asked him to, but quickly followed with a disclaimer. My wife wouldn't ask me to get out, he said. I [will] make a decision based upon how all this stuff is affecting her, because I would put her first. Because she's not the type to say: 'y'all get out'.

'Guess not.'

As for Ginger White, she says that she will respect whatever decision Herman Cain makes, and has accepted that her relationship with Cain, whatever form it took, is now over.

I thought we were friends, she said, recalling an incident just before Cain launched his presidential campaign. I said 'Wow, running for president, that's pretty major, guess we won't be friends anymore.' And he said: 'Guess not'.

Watch the full interview below. Herman Cain's alleged mistress apologizes to his wife Gloria, defends her position to come forward and gives some insight into the Atlanta businessman and GOP former frontrunner:

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