Charlize Theron and Sean Penn have been an item since the holidays, but until now, the actress hasn’t been particularly forthcoming about the relationship.

Terry Richardson/Esquire UK

The “A Million Ways to Die in the West” star, 38, opened up about her new beau, and posed for a sultry black-and-white photo shoot for the July issue of Esquire UK.

According to the actress, who spent the last couple of years focusing on her adopted son Jackson, the relationship came out of nowhere.

“I wasn’t in any place that I even wanted something like [a relationship],” Theron said. “Then one day you go: Oh, [Jackson’s] almost 2 now, and he has his little activities that he goes to and he’s got a bedtime now, and you have more time again. And it’s like if you are open to something, if you just let it happen, it will happen. When you least expect it.”

While she was happy by herself, she says that dating someone isn’t that bad.

“It was nice to be single and now it’s nice to be not single,” she added.

The full interview and more exclusive photos are available at Esquire.co.uk, and will hit British newsstands on June 5.