The U.S. veteran journalist Barbara Walters admitted that she had had an affair with married U.S. Senator Edward Brooke, U.S. media reported on Friday.

Appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Walters shared details of her relationship with Brooke that lasted several years in the 1970s, according to CNN's report.

"I was certainly involved," Walters said, "He was exciting. He was brilliant. It was exciting times in Washington."

A moderate Republican from Massachusetts who took office in 1967, Brooke was the first African-American to be popularly elected to the Senate. Both he and Walters knew that public knowledge of their affair could have ruined his career as well as hers.

At the time, the twice-divorced Walters was a rising star in TV news and co-host of NBC's "Today" show, but would soon jump to ABC News, where she has enjoyed unrivaled success.

Her affair with Brooke, which never came to light before, had ended before he lost his bid for a third term in 1978.

(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2008)