Los Angeles, May 7 (AZINS) A few months after actor-director Sean Penn referred to his girlfriend Charlize Theron as "the love of my life", she has said the same of him.

Penn, 54, directed Theron, 39, in the upcoming film “The Last Face”. Theron told Elle magazine in its June issue that in many ways it was a trying time, reports people.com.

"Putting aside that he's my partner, he's the love of my life... for the first time, I felt that my work was really bleeding into my life, and that made it hard," she said.

“There were moments where I was incredibly unfair to him. And moments where I felt like ... he was incredibly unfair to me. But it makes you realize that no matter how complicated it gets, the priority is the relationship,” Theron added.

The Oscar winners have been dating each other for more than a year.