PITTSBURGH — The fired CEO of Pennsylvania’s biggest health insurer said Thursday that he was injured physically and emotionally by the domestic dispute that led to his ouster, and that some friends and colleagues have since dropped him “like a hot potato.”

In his first public comments on the matter, former Highmark chief Ken Melani told a newspaper that he went into seclusion after a fight with his mistress’ husband.

The March 25 confrontation in Oakmont left him with a bloodied face and one eye swollen shut, Melani said. He spent the night at a friend’s house and much of the next two weeks crying and dealing with the unraveling of his personal life and decades-long career.

“As each day passed, I realized that the magnitude of what happened was catastrophic,” he said.

Officials at the Pittsburgh-based company have said they fired the 58-year-old Melani on April 1 because he repeatedly lied to senior management about his relationship with the woman.