In an interview with The New York Times, Penn opened up about how his perspective on romance has changed over the years.
“I’m just free,” Penn told the Times. “If I’m going to be in a relationship, I’m still going to be free, or I’m not going to be in it, and I’m not going to be hurting. I don’t sense I’ll have my heart broken by romance again.”
The Academy Award-winning actor has been married and divorced thrice.
Penn was married to Madonna from 1985 to 1989.
In 1996, he married actor Robin Wright, with whom he has two children. They divorced in 2010.
In 2020, Penn married Australian actor Leila George. A year later, George filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2022.
He added that he feels “thrilled every day” that he’s not currently in a serious relationship.
Looking back on his past relationships, Penn says he’s had experiences when “the first thing I see in the morning are eyes wondering what I’m going to do to make them happy that day. Rarely reciprocated.”
He also spoke about how draining his relationships sometimes felt.
“On one of my marriages, the background noise of life was a ‘Housewives of Beverly Hills’ or another thing called ‘Love Island,'” he said. “Not even being in the room — I’m not saying this to be cute — I was dying. I felt my heart, my brain shrinking. It was an assault.”
Penn added that he’s past the stage of liking drama in romance, and if there’s any unnecessary drama or visits from “the trauma gods,” his feelings for the person will disappear.
“I look at my dogs and say, ‘Hey, it’s us again,'” he said.
A 2022 Pew Research Center survey of 6,034 US adults showed that about 30% of those over the age of 50 are single. Additionally, among all single adults surveyed, 57% say they are not currently looking for a relationship or casual dates.
Although there is a stigma around being single — especially for older women — research has shown that there are numerous mental and physical benefits to singledom. Bonnie Scott, therapist and founder of Mindful Kindness Counseling, previously told Business Insider that single people can make decisions independently, which leads to more freedom.
A representative for Penn did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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