Marion Jones Opens Up to Oprah About Her 'Mistakes'

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 16, 2008 02:20 PM EST

In her first interview since being sentenced to six months in prison for lying about her steroid use and check fraud, Marion Jones accepts responsibility and says she has no regrets.

"I think that I absolutely should have to accept responsibility for breaking the law," she says on the Oprah Winfrey Show in an episode airing Wednesday. "I have no regrets for doing what I did on October the 5th and pleading guilty and admitting to the world that I lied, that I've made mistakes."

After her October admission, Marion was stripped of her Olympic medals – something much easier to deal with than the pain of upsetting her loved ones, she says.

"[It pales] in comparison to seeing my husband cry," she tells Winfrey. "They [pale] in comparison to seeing my mother have to stand there in the courtroom and bawl. You know, those things to me are what mean the most."

Jones, who has a 4-year-old son at home, admits she is disappointed to be serving time instead of just being on probation, but says, "I have to live with it. My family has to live with it." And she and her husband have yet to find the way to explain the situation to their young son.

"It's a very sensitive topic, and we're not dealing with a 15-year-old here who perceives things a different way," she says. "We're talking about a 4-year-old who was upset this morning that I couldn't drop him off at school, you know? It's going to be challenging."

Right now, getting her through the challenges are her supporters whose "prayers have really allowed me to get through it and be strong."

Jones adds: "Everybody strays at some point in their life, and I strayed and I made mistakes and I am no different than anybody else except for the fact that you see me on the front page of the paper."