Being arrested for criminal domestic violence has without question been the most painful and humiliating experience of my life. Literally overnight, I went from being a respected public figure with a promising future to having my mug shot plastered on the evening news and the pages of newspapers across the state. Letters to the editor have attacked my character, and even the man I helped elect governor and worked side-by-side with for the past four years has weighed in publicly against me.

Predictably, media reports about this incident have echoed police reports — essentially “defendant kicks in door, grabs fiancee and shoves her into furniture.” It’s an awful picture, and one I failed to address immediately on the advice of lawyers and family members wanting me to remain silent. Part of it was also my decision. I didn’t want to give the appearance of abusing my relationships with members of the media for personal gain.

Well, I can’t be silent about this any more. I made it my business as the governor’s spokesman to always tell the truth and call things exactly as I saw them, and that’s what I’m going to do here.

On the morning of July 22, I awoke at the home I shared with my former fiancee, took a shower and dressed for work. At around 8:30 a.m., before I’d gathered my belongings to depart for the office, a verbal argument ensued between the two of us that ended with her demanding that I leave our home. Seconds later, in walking to my car, I realized that my work bag, cell phone and cell phone bag were still inside.

I turned around and tried to re-enter our home, but discovered it had been locked with a chain. After repeatedly asking my former fiancee to open the front door, I did take the regrettable step of kicking it in. I shouldn’t have done it, but I was running late for work and felt it was completely unreasonable to be locked out of a home where I pay half the mortgage.

After retrieving what I needed from my office upstairs, I tried to leave the house again, only to find my former fiancee physically blocking the door from my office to our hallway. Much like a football player who makes a fake to avoid being tackled, I was successful in getting around her without significant contact. Quickly, however, she slid back in front of me and physically blocked me again, this time preventing me from descending our staircase.

Here is where our stories split. All I remember was that I made another move to try to pass by her and get out of the house. In making that move, it is entirely possible that I might have shoved her arm off my chest in an effort to loosen her grip so that I could move forward. She remembers it differently, and I am perfectly willing to admit that as I was trying to get her to let go of me, she may have lost her balance or been knocked off balance with sufficient momentum to cause a fall. Whatever happened, I know for a fact that I did not intentionally grab or shove her so as to cause her to fall.

I never set out to deliberately hurt anyone. What happened at our home that morning was an accident, not an attack. I don’t have a violent bone in my body, and everyone who knows me and has worked with me all these years will tell you that. Sure, I’m aggressive when it comes to my job, but when it comes to physical violence — it’s just not who I am.

I’ve worked incredibly hard to help the governor strengthen our state’s domestic violence laws. Domestic violence is a tragedy of ignorance and depravation, and our state’s deplorable record must be improved. But because I love my former fiancee and her family, and because I refuse to allow our personal lives to become fodder for political bottom-feeders or the evening news, I have taken the extraordinary step of offering to plead guilty to this awful charge despite the fact that I believe I am innocent. I do this for no other reason than wanting all of us involved in this tragedy to move on.

At the end of the day, the court of law and the court of public opinion will make their judgments. Now that I’ve told my side of the story, though, I’m content to let those judgments be made, secure in the knowledge that I know and God knows what truly happened that morning.

Mr. Folks is the founder of Columbia-based Viewpolitik, a communications and consulting firm. He served as press secretary to Gov. Mark Sanford from 2001 to 2005. Write to Mr. Folks at willfolks@hotmail.com.