Robin Thicke and Paula Patton
Robin Thicke with former wife Paula Patton in Happier times 

Blurred Lines star Robin Thicke has opened up for the first time about his split with wife Paula Patton.

The 37-year-old, who named his new album 'Paula' admitted that he was "selfish" but denied being unfaithful.

Speaking to Hot 97's Ebro, he said: "The album is what happens when you lose the love of your life and you try to figure out in your head 'How am I gonna move on?' "

"Because we weren't together anymore, I had so much that I still wanted to apologise for and take responsibility for and that's what the album is about."

Although it had been suggested that his raunchy performance with Miley Cyrus at the MTV music awards as well as a scandalous snap of him grabbing the bottom of a socialite at a club ended his eight-year marriage, Thicke insisted the incidents were not to blame.

He said: "Cheating is not why we're apart. We're apart because we just couldn't be together anymore, for a while. There's a hundred different reasons. There isn't just one."

Thicke, who met his wife when he was 14, confessed that he became "too selfish, too greedy and full of himself" after his controversial hit climbed charts across the globe.

"I'm a man and I messed up and I had to lie for a while and then I stopped lying. That was actually good for me because I was tired of lying."

While some fans have accused him of emotionally blackmailing Patton, he said that creating the album was a therapeutic process that had helped him become a better man.

But he admits that it could take more than sweet music to win her back. "She hasn't heard it and I don't think she wants to hear it right now," he said.

"I knew exactly what I had. It's not that simple. After 20 years, it didn't work for 20 years because it wasn't right. It was right, but sometimes people grow apart. You don't build love in a day and you don't lose it in a day."

Thicke's candid sit-down comes after he faced the wrath of angry fans during a #AskThicke Q&A session on Twitter. While some accused him of stalking his wife, other critics branded him a misogynist who glamorised sexual abuse and violence against women.