MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama acknowledged Wednesday that he had made inappropriate and sexually charged remarks to one of his closest aides, but he denied an accusation that he and the woman had pursued a physical relationship.

“At times in the past, have I said things that I should not have said? Absolutely, that’s what I’m saying today,” Mr. Bentley said at a State Capitol news conference, when he said he had apologized for “any conversations and behavior that was inappropriate.” He insisted that he had broken no laws during his friendship and professional partnership with his senior political adviser, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, who holds such power in Alabama that Spencer Collier, a former state law enforcement secretary, on Wednesday referred to her as the “de facto governor.”

Mr. Bentley’s public demonstration of remorse came nearly seven months after Dianne Bentley, to whom the Republican governor was married for 50 years, sought a divorce, and just hours after Mr. Collier, the recently ousted leader of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, described what he saw as a history of improper conduct between the governor and Ms. Mason. Mr. Collier said that Mr. Bentley had, in 2014, effectively acknowledged an affair, and that it appeared to be continuing as recently as last month.

Mr. Bentley, 73, repeatedly signaled that he had no intention of resigning. Although the governor’s personal behavior has long been a subject of speculation here in the capital, it was not clear Wednesday how his admission would affect his standing among his constituents in this socially conservative state, where he easily won a second term less than two years ago.