Scarlett Johansson says her marriage to Ryan Reynolds was a "beautiful thing."

The Avengers actress married the Hollywood heartthrob in 2008, but less than three years later their union was over, and while she still feels upset it didn't work out, she's glad she spent that period of her life with him.

"It was a beautiful thing. The falling in love and getting married and making that commitment ... I think it's nice to know that you're capable of loving somebody in that way. I think it's a rare opportunity. I don't feel on the other side of it completely, but it gets better. It's still there. More than anything, it's just that not having your buddy around all the time is weird. There's no rule book. I think it's just time."

Scarlett - who is now dating New York-based advertising creative director Nate Naylor - says she never thought she and Ryan would divorce and admits their split was a very lonely time:

"It was horrible. Of course it's horrible. It was devastating. It really throws you. You think that your life is going to be one way, and then, for various reasons or whatever, it doesn't work out. This was something I never thought I would be doing. And there's no way to navigate it. Nobody can give you the right answer. It's never anything you want to hear. It's a very lonely thing. It's like the loneliest thing you'll ever do, in some way."