Eddie Cibrian says he gets why ex Brandi Glanville slams him publicly for leaving her for his Lifetime movie costar LeAnn Rimes.
"The unfortunate part about it is you get only one side of a very complicated story. But you know I'm fine with that … Sometimes you want to fight back," Cibrian, 36, says in an episode of the Rachael Ray show to air Oct. 19.
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"I don't think it's very conducive to play anything like privately out publicly at all," Cibrian goes on. "I mean I think it's like very hurtful."
Cibrian says he tries to "shield" his kids, Mason, 6, and Jake, 2 from public reports.
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"I mean, my philosophy is to try to insulate them so they're not subject to anything, you know, regarding the business and anything of tabloid nature," he says.
Cibrian also explains the type of father he is: "I go with the flow, but I'm very protective. I wouldn't say I'm overly protective, but I'm very protective."
Glanville, 36, has slammed Cibrian's parenting skills, and even says he skipped his son's first week of school to hang with Rimes.
"His displays of poor taste have hurt our two children," she told Us in August. "Eddie is a compulsive liar, cheater and a home wrecker, and he has been an absentee father."