Billy Bush says he’s ready to get back into television

NEWYORK>> Former “Today” co-host Billy Bush says he’s a better man and ready to get back into television seven months after being fired from his job at NBC following the release of a videotape in which he can be heard engaging in lewd talk with Donald Trump.

In an interview posted Sunday, Bush told The Hollywood Reporter the past months have “been a roller coaster” that included an apology to his three daughters.

Bush said his then-15-year-old daughter, Mary, called him in tears from her boarding school when the news broke, and asked him why he could be heard laughing at the things Trump was saying on the old tape.

“It hit really hard, and I stopped for a second, and I said, ‘I have no answer for that that’s any good. I am really sorry,” Bush said.

Bush, who had recently been hired as co-host of the “Today” show, lost his job. He said he went through a lot of soul searching and spent seven days on a spiritual retreat with no phones. He reads, meditates and is doing yoga.

“I have changed in a way that I think will make me better at my job,” Bush said. “I’ve come out of this with a deeper understanding of how women can connect to the feeling of having to fight extra hard for an even playing field.”

The 2005 video shows Trump, who was the star of “The Apprentice,” riding on an “Access Hollywood” bus with then-host Bush. At one point, Trump describes how women respond to lewd advances from celebrities. “When you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

Billy Bush