Ric Flair on Why He’s Not Proud to Admit He Slept with 10,000 Women: 'I Don’t Want My Grandkids to Know'

Ric Flair certainly got around the ring in his prime, but the legendary wrestler now says he doesn’t necessarily look back on his exploits with pride.

The 68-year-old, who is fighting for his life after years of alcohol abuse, says he cringes to think that his grandchildren will know that he slept with roughly 10,000 women over the years — an admission he initially made to ESPN’s 30 for 30 in a special to air in November.

What I said was the truth, but I feel bad now that I said some of it. Ten thousand women,” says Flair, who opens up in this week’s issue and to PEOPLETV about his iconic wrestling career and current health struggles.

“I wish I hadn’t said that because of my grandkids,” he admits.

Although Flair still admits that “I love the ladies,” he is finally a one-woman guy: “I only love one now. I have never done anything since I met Wendy.”

Ric Flair and Wendy Barlow

Flair credits fiancée and longtime companion Wendy Barlow for helping him change his hard-living ways, and she has been by his side since he was rushed to an Atlanta-area hospital on Aug. 11 and spent time in a medically-induced coma after being told he was on the verge of congestive heart failure.

But to many, his “stylin and profilin’ ” ways will always be a part of Ric Flair.

“It’s going to be a hard sell overnight to say that ‘Hey, Ric Flair has changed,” he says. “It’s going to take time, it’s going to take proof.”

But after reconnecting with Barlow, Flair insists his playboy ways have subsided.

“But it’s still hard for me not to be me,” he says. ” But I’m really focused on getting well and just enjoying my life with Wendy.”