Sean Penn is still "so in love with" his ex-wife Leila George.
The Mystic River actor began dating the Australian-American actress, the daughter of actor Vincent D'Onofrio, in 2016 and they tied the knot in July 2020. However, the marriage was short-lived and George, 30, filed for divorce in October, with the split being finalised last month.
In a cover interview with Hollywood Authentic, the 61-year-old confessed he ruined their marriage by being "very neglectful" to George. He also admitted to drinking alcohol and taking the insomnia medication Ambien early in the morning.
"There's a woman who I'm so in love with, Leila George, who I only see on a day-to-day basis now, because I f**ked up the marriage," he candidly shared. "I was a very neglectful guy. I was not a f**king cheat or any of that obvious s**t, but I allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important, and that included my place in being totally depressed and driven to alcohol and Ambien at 11 o'clock in the morning, by watching the news, by watching the Trump era, by watching it and just despairing."
The Oscar-winning actor added that it wasn't a pleasant experience for George to wake up and find him on the couch having been up since 4am watching the news.
"(Seeing that her new husband) has decided that 10:30 in the morning is a good time to neck a double vodka tonic and an Ambien and say, 'Good morning, honey. I'm going to pass out for a few hours and get away from all this s**t.' As it turns out, women... they don't love that," he acknowledged.
Penn said that he doesn't know "what's going to happen with us" but still considers George his "best friend in the world". He also shared that he has made some lifestyle changes - including watching the news less and switching off his phone - and feels less stressed.
"Although I still need vodka and an Ambien to get to sleep at night, I don't use them to hide from the world now like I used to," he added. "I hope I've learned not to let everything overlap with me anymore. And that I really put priority in my family, in my wife, in my life, in ways that I can plan and control."
Penn was also previously married to Madonna from 1985 until 1989 and to Robin Wright from 1996 until 2010.
