New York ? Gov. David Paterson, who took over the state’s top job Monday after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal, has admitted he and his wife, Michelle, had affairs during a rough patch in their marriage several years ago, a newspaper reported.

Paterson told the Daily News that he maintained a relationship with another woman from 1999 until 2001.

The couple agreed to speak publicly about their marriage in response to rumors about Paterson’s personal life that have been swirling in Albany since Spitzer resigned last week.

After his inauguration Monday, Paterson and his wife acknowledged the relationships but did not go into details. “This was a marriage that appeared to be going sour at one point,” Paterson said. “But I went to counseling and we decided we wanted to make it work. Michelle is well aware of what went on.”

“Like most marriages, you go through certain difficult periods,” Michelle Paterson said. “What’s important is for your kids to see you worked them out.”

The Patersons have two children, a 19-year-old student at Ithaca College who is from his wife’s previous marriage, and a 14-year-old son who attends public school in New York City.