Charlize Theron Opens Up to Vogue, December 2011

Charlize Theron doesn't get too much media attention when she's not promoting something new, and that's mostly because she likes to keep to herself and not court the tabloids like other stars. She makes an exception with Vogue, opening up in an interview about a painful breakup.

The actress sat down with Vogue to promote “Young Adult,” her latest film, a dark but savory comedy, but she also dished some details about herself she doesn't usually talk about with the press.

Charlize Theron says she's grateful she managed not to get sucked into the glitzy Hollywood world, where being hounded by the paparazzi and tabloids exposure are a must, the best credentials one star can possibly have.

“Some people are really into that world, of being photographed, being at the party, being with the guy, being in the Bentley. Good for them, because it’s so entertaining to watch. It’s just not me,” she says.

After she broke up from Stuart Townsend, her longtime love and the man she thought she'd be growing old with, Charlize went completely off the radar: she was trying to make the relationship work and, later on, to heal her broken heart.

She returned to work on “Young Adult,” which sees director Jason Reitman teaming up again with writer Diablo Cody.

“I’d gotten out of a relationship, and I was in this really floaty place. My feet weren’t touching the ground. I just kind of turned to [Reitman] and was like, ‘I feel like me again’,” she says of going back to work.

“It was sinking, and I had to give it a fight,” she says of her 10-year romance with Townsend and how badly she wanted to save the relationship.

“I really wanted to try and make it work. That was the priority. I wouldn’t do it any different way,” Charlize adds, explaining how acting came second to her lover.

Theron is now back to work: she's done the above mentioned comedy and is also working on another highly anticipated release, “Snow White and the Huntsman” where she plays Evil Queen.

For the first time in her life, she's single, she says for the publication – and the idea is very foreign to her.

“I’ve never been single. This is the first time in my life. From the time I was nineteen, I’ve been in relationships, literally gone from one to the other within a month. It’s been good for me. I’m a creature who’s really found her comfort zone in relationships. It’s been nice to rediscover myself,” the star says.

“I had to make a real conscious effort to do it – it’s hard. It’s much easier to lose yourself in flowers and cigarettes and coffee with somebody else,” Charlize adds.

Her full interview with Vogue is here.