EXCLUSIVE: 'I was an idiot - what was I thinking?' Sandra Bullock's cheating ex Jesse James is now happily remarried to a drag-racing heiress, manufacturing $25,000 guns (one a gift for President Trump) and designing clothes for the NRA 

  • Seven years ago, West Coast Choppers founder Jesse James was enduring the worst time of his life following revelations he cheated on Sandra Bullock
  • He is now remarried to drag racer and heiress Alexis DeJoria, 39, and has a gun manufacturing business and a National Rifle Association clothing line
  • In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, James, 47, tells of his failed marriages, new business ventures and his support of President Trump
  • On his ex-wife Sandra Bullock, James says a lot of good came out of the marriage and he has 'no regrets' except about the loss of 'his son' Louis
  • Bullock and James started the process of adopting Louis before their divorce but she finalized the adoption alone 

Seven years ago, West Coast Choppers founder Jesse James was enduring the worst time of his life; ordure piling up on his head following revelations he cheated on his then-wife Sandra Bullock.

Today, things are very different for the 'glorified welder', 47. Gone is the LA home – swapped for a $2 million mansion in Texas – while the Long Beach garage that propelled him to fame is a thing of the past.

Now happily remarried to wife number four, drag racer and heiress Alexis DeJoria, 39, James has thrown himself into a panoply of new ventures, including a gun manufacturing business and a National Rifle Association clothing range.

West Coast Choppers still powers on, albeit largely in the form of clothing, and James says his $25,000 apiece guns are now his main focus – among them the weapon he is making as a gift for President Trump.

In exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Jesse James says he is in a good place with wife number four, Alexis DeJoria, and his new business ventures - a gun manufacturing company and a National Rifle Association clothing line 

In exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Jesse James says he is in a good place with wife number four, Alexis DeJoria, and his new business ventures - a gun manufacturing company and a National Rifle Association clothing line 

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he said: 'I'm just not sure how I'm going to get it to him. I asked his people and they don't know either. They only just started this stuff so I guess they're still getting things figured out.'

Along with weapons, James' passions include his motorbike – a hot rod customized to look like a New Orleans Police Department chopper, complete with a siren – and his family.

His two eldest children, from his marriage to first wife Karla James, live close to his Dripping Springs, Texas, home: son Eli, 19, lives in Austin where he plays in two bands and has 'a passion for music' according to his proud father.

Meanwhile his daughter Chandler, 22, is getting back on track following well-publicized drug problems that saw her enter rehab in 2013 and is a committed 'PETA vegetarian'.

Ex-wife Bullock, 52, also keeps a house in the area, as does Janine Lindemulder, 48, the porn star mother of his youngest daughter Sunny, 13.

Seven years ago, the West Coast Choppers founder endured the worst time of his life following revelations he cheated on his then-wife Sandra Bullock

Seven years ago, the West Coast Choppers founder endured the worst time of his life following revelations he cheated on his then-wife Sandra Bullock

He remarried drag racer and billionaire heiress Alexis DeJoria, 39, in March 2013. Of their relationship he said: 'We like the same stuff, the same music, the same everything. It makes me look back at other relationships and be like, I was an idiot! What was I thinking?'

James, 47, was married three times before, including to porn star Janine Lindemulder. The pair had an acrimonious divorce and vicious custody battle over their daughter, Sunny 

James, 47, was married three times before, including to porn star Janine Lindemulder. The pair had an acrimonious divorce and vicious custody battle over their daughter, Sunny 

He has no contact with Bullock now – nor the son, Louis, they were in the process of adopting at the time of their divorce – but he says he does not regret a thing and is happy with how life turned out.

James married Alexis DeJoria in 2013. She is the daughter of billionaire entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of the Paul Mitchell hair care products line and Patron Spirits Company.

Speaking about her, he said: 'It's just a different deal this time and it just happened.

'I was like, I'm just going to be that old dude who's single now and never find anybody else, and then it's like – there she is.

'We like the same stuff, the same music, the same everything. We like all these things. It makes me look back at other relationships and be like, I was an idiot! What was I thinking? That was never going to work. But I guess that's how you learn, you know.' 

He added: 'The first one [Karla] doesn't count because I was 20 when I got with her and she was 30. Isn't that kind of bad?

'Like my daughter's 22 right now and I imagine if some 30-year-old dude came round, I'd be like no, no, no.

James is now working on new business ventures, including manufacturing $25,000 guns

James is now working on new business ventures, including manufacturing $25,000 guns

The 'glorified welder' says he is in the process of making a gun as a gift for President Trump. He said: ': 'I'm just not sure how I'm going to get it to him. I asked his people and they don't know either. They only just started this stuff so I guess they're still getting things figured out'

The 'glorified welder' says he is in the process of making a gun as a gift for President Trump. He said: ': 'I'm just not sure how I'm going to get it to him. I asked his people and they don't know either. They only just started this stuff so I guess they're still getting things figured out'

The TV star swapped his LA home for a $2 million Austin, Texas property shortly after his split from Sandra Bullock

The TV star swapped his LA home for a $2 million Austin, Texas property shortly after his split from Sandra Bullock

James said:  'I always felt more relaxed in Austin [during his marriage to Bullock], so I opened a shop, started doing projects here and it got more and more'

James said:  'I always felt more relaxed in Austin [during his marriage to Bullock], so I opened a shop, started doing projects here and it got more and more'

Along with weapons, James' passions include working on his motorbikes in his Texas garage

Along with weapons, James' passions include working on his motorbikes in his Texas garage

Jesse and wife Alexis after she won the Carquest Auto Parts event in Chandler, Arizona, America  in 2014

Jesse and wife Alexis after she won the Carquest Auto Parts event in Chandler, Arizona, America  in 2014

'That was kind of scandalous. No ill will but by the time I was 30 and she was 40, we had nothing, nothing in common.'

James was born in Long Beach, California, to a working class family and made his first foray into business in 1989 from his mother's garage.

That business, West Coast Choppers, would go on to become a multi-million dollar enterprise – given a boost via a reality TV show named Monster Garage that made its debut in June 2002.

From there, James expanded into further TV work – appearing in the Discovery Channel's Sons of Guns, Jesse James is a Dead Man, American Chopper and, most recently, Jesse James: Outlaw Garage.

West Coast Choppers, originally a business specializing in custom motorcycle parts and complete bikes, expanded into clothing and accessories – most featuring a logo resembling the Maltese Cross.

For a decade, the brand was sold through the 5,000 US branches of Walmart – as well as internationally, in countries ranging from the U.K. to China.

But James' business – and his personal reputation – came crashing down in March 2010 after several women came forward claiming to having had affairs with the 47-year-old.

At the time, James was married to his third wife, actress Sandra Bullock, whom he married in 2005, after meeting her during a tour of the Monster Garage set.

Prior to that, he had been married to Karla James, 57, between 1991 and 2002 with whom he had two children, and porn actress Janine Lindemulder, 48.

Lindemulder, whose main claim to fame is her appearance on the cover of Blink 182's 1999 album Enema of the State, was his wife between 2002 and 2004.

On his ex-wife Sandra Bullock, James says a lot of good came out of the marriage and he has 'no regrets' except about the loss of 'his son' Louis. Bullock and James started the process of adopting Louis before their divorce but she finalized the adoption alone 

On his ex-wife Sandra Bullock, James says a lot of good came out of the marriage and he has 'no regrets' except about the loss of 'his son' Louis. Bullock and James started the process of adopting Louis before their divorce but she finalized the adoption alone 

A year before his marriage to Bullock ended, Lindemulder was the cause of another scandal – igniting a custody battle over James' youngest daughter Sunny following her release from prison in October 2009 on tax evasion charges.

At the time, Bullock stood by her husband but all that changed after it emerged that he had cheated on her with tattooed model Michelle 'Bombshell' McGee.

Two other women, stripper Melissa Smith and Los Angeles photographer Brigitte Daguerre also came forward claiming to have had affairs with James.

In April 2010, he checked himself into a rehab facility in Arizona after apologizing profusely to Bullock, although that wasn't enough to save the marriage – they divorced the following June.

James told DailyMail.com: 'Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah, I stood up and took accountability for it and apologized. And that's end of story. Everything else was just… [shakes his head]'.

The 47-year-old, who is still targeted on social media over the affair, added: 'The easy [put down] is like, oh well you cheated on Sandra Bullock. That's the world's easiest comeback.

'In general, both women and men cheat. It's part of life.'

He continued: 'It's like people love to see you fall. And the farther you get, the higher you get, the more they love it.

'I look at myself now and I look at how I was feeling then, and I think I was completely overreacting as far as letting it really get to me.

'I think it was having 50 or 60 or paparazzi outside my house for five or six months… That was not a good feeling. I'm a fighter man, I come from the tradition of – if you do something I don't like, I'm going to punch you.

'There's no lawsuits, nothing – we're just going to fight it out. It's hard for me to bite my cheeks and not say anything and just look down.

'You learn what's important – that that whole fame thing is not really…. It's meaningless when your quality of life goes to zero.'

Despite finding the going tough, James now says 'a lot of good' came out of the end of his marriage – including his move to Austin, Texas, shortly after his divorce from Bullock.

He said: 'I always felt more relaxed here [during his marriage to Bullock], so I opened a shop, started doing projects here and it got more and more.

'Finally, in 2010, I was like, I'm out of here [Los Angeles]. I got sick of LA, I went through a bunch of BS – I thought, it's time to go, get a better life for my kids, you know.

James was one of the first celebrities to endorse Donald Trump, whom he met while filming Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, he has been outspoken in his support for the president

James was one of the first celebrities to endorse Donald Trump, whom he met while filming Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, he has been outspoken in his support for the president

'A lot of good happened out of [the end of his marriage] because it helped me focus on being a dad more, it helped me focus on doing the right thing and being myself, and getting out of LA and getting a better life for my kids.'

Nonetheless, James, who remains at the helm of West Coast Choppers as well as Jesse James Firearms Unlimited, Texas Hot Rods and, most recently, NRA Originals, isn't shy about putting his head above the parapet.

One of the first celebrities to endorse Donald Trump, whom he met while filming Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, he has been outspoken in his support for the president.

He said: 'I know he's working hard and he's doing a lot of stuff – like the thing he signed for equality for women.

'We don't even know about it and you know why? Because no one does any press on it. They're all like, oh he hates women. I think he's doing good.'

Speaking about the President's recent visit to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, James added:

'I thought, even if he's not my friend or nothing, it's kind of bad a** we have a president who can take someone and entertain and probably get that guy to pay more for us to defend them – that's how it's done.

'That's how they do sales meetings – they say let's go out for dinner and they'll get the buyer to pay more and that's how it's done. I don't know if Obama was cut out for that.'

James, who voted for Obama in 2008, says he was left disappointed by the former president, while Hillary Clinton he dismisses as a person 'who only cares about herself'.

On Liberals such as Amy Schumer who continue to protest the Trump administration, James is cutting.

'[Schumer] is not funny. Even her skits and all the things like that. I don't care about her personal views but I don't think she's that funny.

'Ellen DeGeneres as a stand-up comedian? F***ing funny. Amy Schumer… Not so much.'

On Schumer's anti-gun stance, he added: 'It's all bulls*** because if she came here and hung out for a day and learned to shoot, she would love it.

'It's all, even the anti-Trump stuff, it's a little bit a grab at fame. If I tell everybody what an asshole Trump is and how I hate him, then I'll be on CNN or CNBC. They're all getting a bump in fame by slamming him.'

Although James says he hopes that people will come around to Trump and unite behind the flag, for himself, the focus is now on the recently launched NRA Originals and his Jesse James Firearms Unlimited brands.

But for all the politicking he does on Twitter and other social media outlets, he says he is not interested in making the move to Washington DC himself and wants to carry on with what he does best – welding and creating choppers and firearms.

He said: 'I'm just a welder. A glorified welder. That's really what my core is. Everything else is just like frosting. How I weld today, that's what really means the most.'

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