Actor Billy Bob Thornton has spoken openly about his past marriage to Angelina Jolie, saying that although they shared a wonderful time together, their relationship ultimately ended because they were incompatible.

In an interview published in Rolling Stone on November 17, Billy Bob Thornton reflected on the three years he was married to Angelina Jolie. “It was one of the best periods of my life,” he said. “We are still very close friends today. It was also the most civilized breakup I’ve ever had. We simply divorced because our lifestyles were too different.”

Thornton and Jolie were together from 2000 to 2003. Jolie was his fifth wife. He recalled that at the time, he was more famous than Angelina, but once they married, the intense media attention on celebrity couples suddenly surrounded them both. “Back then, the press and the public were obsessed with famous couples,” he said. “Wherever we went, we were followed. Anything we said instantly became viral.”

The actor also addressed the much-talked-about story of the couple wearing necklaces containing each other’s blood. “We each had a small pendant with just a single drop of blood inside,” explained the Landman star. “It was meant to be romantic, nothing more. But the story got exaggerated, and people turned us into vampires living in basements and drinking each other’s blood.”

After divorcing Angelina Jolie, Thornton began dating makeup artist Connie Angland. The couple welcomed their daughter Bella in 2004 and eventually married a decade later. Looking back on his six marriages and his current sense of peace with Connie, Billy joked: “I finally found where I belong. My previous marriages were more like having one drink too many and someone says, ‘Let’s get married,’ and you reply, ‘Sure, why not.’ I always tell people—at least I tried.”

As for Angelina Jolie, she later went on to her highly publicized relationship with Brad Pitt. The former couple share six children—three adopted and three biological. They married in 2014 and divorced two years later. Before Thornton, Angelina had married British actor Jonny Lee Miller, with whom she is said to still maintain a friendly relationship.