Meg Ryan has revealed how she dumped Russell Crowe and broke his heart.

The Hollywood actress hooked up with the New Zealand-born tough guy in 2001 when her marriage to another actor, Dennis Quaid, ended.

Ryan, in an interview with America's InStyle magazine, accused Quaid of not being faithful to her in their 10 year marriage and she said Crowe was not responsible for her divorce.

"Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time, and that was very painful," she tells the new issue of InStyle

"I found out more about that after I was divorced. she adds.

Of Crowe, she says: “I think he took a big hit. But Russell didn’t break up the marriage. He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault. I was a mess. I hurt him too at the end. I couldn’t be in another long relationship, it wasn’t the time for that. So I got out.”

Ryan, 46, met Crowe on the set of their box office disaster film, Proof of Life, and they were inseparable for a period in 2001, including a trip to Australia.