McCready Says She Still Loves Boyfriend

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Mindy McCready (search) says she still loves the man charged with nearly beating her to death earlier this year, and her two suicide attempts were the result of their troubled relationship.

"I wanted him to be sorry," McCready said Thursday about her boyfriend, William McKnight (search), on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.

McKnight was charged with attempted murder in May after he allegedly broke into the singer's home and assaulted her.

McCready, 29, had a No. 1 hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," but has suffered a series of legal and personal problems in the last year.

During the interview, McCready described the attack and recalled being choked and "gurgling on blood." She broke into tears several times.

"That feeling of not being able to breathe is something I'll never forget," she said.

But McCready said she still loves McKnight and has been with him since the attack. She told Winfrey that she became pregnant by McKnight unintentionally in July and is carrying his baby.

She blamed the violence on drug use, and said she didn't think he would hit her again. She said she hasn't been able to heal emotionally because McKnight hasn't shown remorse.

"He doesn't think that he's done very much wrong," McCready said.

She said she attempted suicide twice after quarreling with McKnight.

"I wanted him to take responsibility for it," she said. "I wanted him to be extremely sorry for it."

Besides the suicide attempts, McCready's problems since August 2004 include a drunken driving arrest in Nashville, an arrest in Arizona on charges stemming from her involvement with a con man and a conviction for fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers.