Alex Rodriguez makes heartbreaking childhood trauma revelation after addressing Madonna affair rumors

Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez has opened up on his hidden childhood trauma and the rumored affair with pop star Madonna that ended his marriage.

Rodriguez's life and career is being chronicled in a new docuseries on HBO, 'Alex vs ARod.' The show addresses the scandals that stalked the 50-year-old during his record-breaking career in Major League Baseball.

Ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis eventually filed for divorce in 2008 after six years of marriage. She alleged that Rodriguez cheated and had 'emotionally abandoned' her and their children.  Scurtis' lawyer, meanwhile, claimed that the 'last straw' was Rodriguez's 'affair of the heart' with Madonna, who was then married to Guy Ritchie.

At the time, the Yankees legend dismissed the rumors as 'ridiculous' and 'not true,' while representatives for Madonna also denied the affair. 'You can’t believe everything you read,' he said in the HBO series.

But he admitted: 'In hindsight, I could have been a better husband. I could have been more present, I could have been more loyal, I could have been more empathetic, sympathetic, you name it.'

Scurtis said in the series that Rodriguez had been fighting 'demons' and the 50-year-old has now revealed the pain he suffered aged 10 when his father, Victor, left the family.

'I've never really said much about my father,' he told People. 'But baseball was our first love. I think my love of the game started when I was basically in Pampers on his lap, watching the Yankee and Mets games in New York.'

Rodriguez has had therapy to treat his trauma and he believes he is 'a little bit more healed now.'

'I have better understanding of him — and myself,' the baseball legend said. 'I'm not asking for pity and I'm certainly not a victim, but I do know that a lot of people have gone through similar situations with their parents, and I don't know if that's something that you ever completely heal from.'

He now claims that being a good father to his daughters, 22-year-old Natasha and 17-year-old Ella, is 'the most important thing' to him.

'There was a promise that I made to myself after my father left at the age of 10,' he explained. 'The prayer was basically that if I ever had an opportunity to be a father, I would take full advantage and be fully committed.'

Rodriguez and Scurtis split after he was accused of infidelity on a number of occasions, including in 2007 when he was spotted with a mystery woman in Toronto.

There were also headlines that claimed the baseball star partied with other women - and at a strip club - during their marriage. He now claims that Scurtis is 'one of his best friends' and that he has 'never been happier' - in part because of the errors he made.

Discussing the HBO series, he told People: 'There is a lot of highs, a lot of lows. I own my mistakes. And to be able to share my mistakes with the next generation of athletes and young people...if they can avoid some of the mistakes I made, then I think it's a job well done.'

Rodriguez added: 'Do I have regrets? All I know I've never felt happier, and I don't think that would be the case today without the mistakes.'