Sean Penn On Ex-Wife: 'She's A Ghost To Me'

In an unusual move, the typically tightlipped Sean Penn, decided to open up about his personal life. Penn, who is well known for his violent outbursts toward paparazzo, admitted to having difficulty coping with his divorce from wife, actress Robin Wright. "She is a ghost to me now," Penn told Vanity Fair. "We spent all those years together … Now she’s just gone."

The couple began dating in 1989 and wed in 1996. Though despite the long relationship (by Hollywood standards, anyway), the couple had a notoriously volatile relationship made many announcements of divorce and separations throughout the years. While they always seemed to reconcile in the past, Penn and Wright finally made the divorce official last August.

To cope with the loss, Penn has turned to volunteering and humanitarian aid, particularly in Haiti, where he and philanthropist Diana Jenkins founded J/P HRO (Jenkins/Penn Haiti Relief Organization). According to Jenkins, Penn has dispensed medicine, swept floors and hauled bags of rice throughout the recently devastated country.

Penn explained that his new seperation has allowed him more time to do what he has always wanted. "I wanted to give back something more to help struggling people, but I didn’t know how to best do it," Penn said. "I was for 20 years in a relationship with Robin and 18 years with children. I didn’t have time to commit to anything – for real – in places like Iraq, except to denounce the war. But now I’m single. I can lend a hand." –ELENA COX