Wyoming state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, a Republican trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney next year, disclosed that he impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18, describing the relationship as “like the Romeo and Juliet” story and saying it was coming to light because of “dirty politics.”

Bouchard initially disclosed what he described as a typical teenage relationship in a Facebook Live video to supporters Thursday. He later confirmed the girl’s age to the Casper Star-Tribune.

“So, bottom line, it’s a story when I was young, two teenagers, girl gets pregnant,” he said in the video. “You’ve heard those stories before. She was a little younger than me, so it’s like the Romeo and Juliet story.”

Bouchard married the girl when she was 15 and he was 19, when both were living in Florida. They divorced three years later, he told the newspaper.

Bouchard’s ex-wife died by suicide when she was 20, he said.

“You know, this thing ended in kind of a bitter divorce. All the odds were against us,” Bouchard said. “We later became friends. She had problems in another relationship. Her dad had committed suicide."

"For whatever reason she decided to do the same," he added.

Online records list a woman with her name as being buried at Florida cemetery in 1990. The newspaper chose not to identify the woman.

Bouchard is among at least eight Republicans running against Cheney in 2022 after her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has been vocal in calling for challengers to unseat Cheney in a Republican primary next year, but has yet to make an endorsement in the race.

Bouchard said he decided to post the video to get ahead of a story about his previous marriage. In the video, Bouchard claims an unnamed reporter and a “political opposition research company” were driving the effort together.

"I don't want to hide anything," he said to the Star-Tribune. "I don't want people drug into this. This is just crazy over politics."

Bouchard said he didn’t think Cheney was involved in the disclosure and Cheney spokesman Jeremy Adler denied any involvement.

Bouchard and the girl were able to legally marry because Florida at the time allowed marriage at any age with a judge’s approval if a pregnancy was involved and a parent consented.

“A lot of pressure. Pressure to abort a baby. I got to tell you. I wasn’t going to do it, and neither was she,” Bouchard said. “And there was pressure to have her banished from their family. Just pressure. Pressure to go hide somewhere. And the only thing I could see as the right thing to do was to get married and take care of him.”

His son has become “almost” estranged from him after making “some wrong choices in his life,” Bouchard said.

“Sadly, he's made some wrong choices in his life," he said. "He's almost become my estranged son. Some of the things that he's got going on his life, I certainly don't approve of them. But I'm not going to abandon him. I still love him. Just like when he was born.”

Bouchard, a gun rights activist who co-owns a septic system servicing business with his wife, said the disclosure wouldn’t stop him from seeking higher office.

“Bring it on. I’m going to stay in this race,” Bouchard said. “We’re going to continue to raise money because my record stands on its own.”

"This is really a message about how dirty politics is," he added. "They'll stop at nothing, man, when you get in the lead and when you're somebody that can't be controlled, you're somebody who works for the people. They'll come after you. That's why good people don't run for office."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.