The 48-year-old actor David Duchovny, best known for his detective role in the television series ‘The X-Files’ has recently entered a rehabilitation center for sex addiction.

"I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction," he told People magazine in a statement. "I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family."

Duchovny has been married to actress Tea Leoni since 1997, and they have two children together, daughter Madelaine, 9, and son Kyd, 6. According to media reports, David Duchovny did not check in because of an extramarital fling.

The irony of the fact is that David currently plays a sex-addict novelist character on the ‘Californication’ show.

Though the rumors started back in the ‘90s, David never confirmed to the press the truth of the events. He fended off rumors with practical answers that exempted him of any guilt. "If you're single and in the public eye and you have a few dates, you're a sex addict," said David in an interview given to ‘Cosmopolitan’ in 1997. David would sometimes give frank answers as he did in an interview for ‘Playboy’ back in 1998 when he revealed his affinity for pornography.

The case caught the eyes of the American public. Several psychiatrists were interviewed over the matter and it turned out that sex addiction cases were barely known 2 or 3 years ago. Experts consider sex addiction is a disorder similar to other dependencies as alcohol abuse. As there is no genetic cause for this issue, the psychiatrists’ response to the spreading cases is that the Internet has developed an easily available pornography database that anyone can have access to.

“Sex addiction is probably more prevalent than we imagine because it is less socially acceptable than addictions like drinking or gambling. People are still less likely to seek help,” said Dr. Wang in an interview for Straits Times Magazine.