Robin Thicke is blaming the break-up of his marriage as the reason he and Pharrell lost the Blurred Lines plagiarism lawsuit.

The singer revealed in his first interview since the case was lost in March that a deposition took a backseat to his crumbling marriage.

Robin split from his childhood sweetheart, actress Paula Patton, in 2014 and their divorce was finalised in March this year, at the same time as the legal dispute with Marvin Gaye’s children, who claimed the number one hit was a copy of the soul singer’s Got to Give It Up.

Robin told The New York Times: “What I will — what I can say — is that when I did the deposition, it was two weeks after my separation from my wife. I was going through personal hell at the time. And I was careless in the deposition. I can’t go into the details of what was said in the deposition beyond that, because of the ongoing litigation.

“My personal issues were all that mattered to me at the time. That’s why I use the word ‘careless’ to describe my attitude at the time. Obviously, I didn’t give my all to the trial. It simply wasn’t as important to me as what was going on in my personal life. I was lost at the time. I had lost my way.”

Robin Thicke and Pharrell perform together
Robin Thicke and Pharrell are appealing the ruling over Blurred Lines (Ian West/PA)

He and Pharrell were later ordered to pay nearly 7.4 million dollars (£4.7 million) to three of Gaye’s children after a jury determined the performers had copied elements of the R&B icon’s 1977 hit Got to Give It Up for Blurred Lines.

Robin said he was surprised they lost the case. “That’s why we’re appealing. I know the difference between inspiration and theft. I’m constantly inspired, but I would never steal.”