Nearly two decades after her much-publicized affair with then US President Bill Clinton, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has come out to speak about how the scandal haunts her to this day.

Lewinsky admits her regret over the "consensual" affair in an article that will appear in the May 13 print edition of Vanity Fair.

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In the article, excerpts of which were made available before the magazine publishes it online on Thursday, Lewinsky admits to having encountered "troubles" during job interviews when prospective employers invariably referred to her "history".

The former intern, now 40 years old and a masters degree holder, vowed to participate in public fora on behalf of fellow victims of harassment and humiliation from here on.

This was not the first time Lewinsky had broken her silence on the affair that nearly cost Bill Clinton his presidency.

In 1999, she agreed to an interview with Barbara Walters for ABC's 20/20 program where she admitted, among other things, being enamored with the former president and how she felt she was used in the end.

In the Vanity Fair article, Lewinsky says she was deeply troubled that Mrs. Hillary Clinton wanted the world to know that she was lambasting the mistress of her husband, and wondered why she blamed her instead of the former president.  

She was referring to a memoir written by Mrs. Clinton in 2003 where she admitted learning about the affair between her husband and Lewinsky.

Political observers see the timing of Lewinsky's coming out, after nearly 20 years of avoiding the limelight, as a dark cloud that suddenly hangs over Mrs. Clinton, just as prospects of her 2016 presidential bid are coming clearer.

Lewinsky, however, pointed out that she just wants to dispel perceptions that she was paid off by the Clintons to remain silent.

She also lamented that media, the people behind the special prosecutor's office, the opposing political parties, as well as the Clinton administration itself, made her look bad, and that brand stuck to this day.

The US House of Representatives impeached Bill Clinton in 1998 for obstruction of justice and perjury over the Lewinsky scandal, which he initially denied.

He later admitted having an affair with Lewinsky and was allowed to serve the rest of his second term.

After the scandal, Lewinsky worked briefly as a handbag designer, and then hosted a dating reality show. She then moved to London to study for a graduate degree but had a hard time landing a job in the US due to her "history" with Clinton.