Amanda Abbington cried every day for a week following her split from Martin Freeman.
Amanda Abbington and Martin Freeman
The 'Sherlock' co-stars, who have two children together, split in 2016 after 16 years together and Amanda admitted she struggled to cope with her newly single status at first.
She told Red magazine: "I had thought Martin was the love of my life. This wasn't meant to happen to us.
"I would wake every morning with a sudden lurch. 'Why do I feel sick?' I'd ask myself, in the darkness of the bedroom I no longer shared with my partner.
"And then, a split-second later, I'd remember what had happened. 'Oh,' I thought, as the tears started to fall. 'That's why'."
However, Amanda had to stay strong for their children.
She said: "During that long, lonely week, I had to keep things together for the sake of our children, Joe and Gracie, who were then 10 and eight.
"They needed to be looked after. I had to wake them up and make them breakfast and take them to school and, in a way, the normality of that routine kept me going.
"It got me up in the mornings."
And Amanda, 44, believes their split was the right decision and she credits it with making her stronger than ever and helping her to have a closer bond with Martin, 46.
She said: "It was one of the darkest moments of my life but, although I didn't know it then, it was also to mark the beginning of an extraordinary journey of self-discovery.
"We still love each other - even if we're not in love with each other - and neither of us sees our relationship as a failure.
"We had 16 great years together and have two fantastic kids. We still talk and we still give each other advice."
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