Meg Ryan: 'Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time'

Meg Ryan doesn't want to be your sweetheart anymore. After eight years of silence, the blonde actress candidly opens up to In Style magazine and dispels the myths about her celebrity marriage to Dennis Quaid, their shocking divorce, and being labeled "America's Sweetheart."

After eight years of keeping quiet, she divulges what the public never knew about her life with Quaid and confesses to some of the deep issues that broke up what seemed to the world to be the perfect Hollywood marriage. "Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that after I was divorced."

In the aftermath of her divorce and the public outcry over her affair with actor Russell Crowe, the actresss opted for some time out of the spotlight to recover from her wounds and to find her footing again. Her film roles have been sparse as has her time in the public eye, and Ryan admits she has liked it that way.

Ryan says that her being dubbed "America's Sweetheart" more than 20 years ago was frustrating and stifling at times. "It's an old-fashioned idea, so anachronistic. I understood it was a compliment about being lovable, and it felt nice ... but it also felt, after a time, like ideas were being projected onto me that had nothing to do with me. The girl next door to what? I never felt like a very conventional person," she confides to the magazine.

"I've been famous for a long time, and these last years there's been a great lull. So its has been me throwing a backpack on, traveling a lot -- its been fantastic."

Not only has she been traveling, but also she picked up something very special on the way. Three years ago, in the midst of all her self-discovery the 46-year-old actress decided to adopt a baby girl from China that she named Daisy.

"I don't feel like I adopted a child. I feel like I just got this unbelievable companion," says Ryan. "Daisy is brilliant. This kid says things every day that make you just stop and stare at her."

Eight years after her very public divorce, life is certainly very different for America's ex-sweetheart. Ryan is now at the point in her life where she can use the dramatic highs and lows the past years have brought her in her acting work. She recently returned to the screen to star in Diane English's woman-centered remake of the 1930s film 'The Women'. In a tale of art imitating life, the tousled haired blonde plays the wife of a philanderer who, with the help of her friends, leaves her cheating husband.

"I think Meg is very comfortable in her own skin now," English says of both Ryan's life and her acting ability. "I don't think she is someone who would just settle into a stereotype, and that makes for a more challenging life."

True to form, Ryan shows her strength and her style in the upcoming magazine. The October issue of In Style magazine hits newsstands Friday, Sept. 26.