Brian Austin Green Opens Up About Toxic Past Romance with Vanessa Marcil

Brian Austin Green is speaking out about his emotional patterns that defined his relationships, including his past romance with actress Vanessa Marcil.
On his May 5 episode of his Oldish podcast, which he hosts with fiancée Sharna Burgess and Randy Spelling, the Beverly Hills, 90210 veteran, 51, opened up about how his childhood influenced his relationships as an adult.Green disclosed that his dynamic with his mother, whom he claims "smothered" him, significantly influenced what he looked for in a partner.
"If I'm seeking a woman, I want the total opposite of that," Green said, clarifying that the overbearing quality of his mother made him yearn for independence and emotional equilibrium in his love life. But that quest wasn't always leading him down the best path.
I had some huge missteps because of that," he conceded. "I mean, the relationship that I had with Vanessa was extremely toxic in that sense. Like, it wasn't a caring, loving relationship.
Green, who has a son with Marcil, explained how the relationship between them was founded on miscommunication and unresolved emotional needs. "Just everything was all about me," he said, explaining his own emotional state at the time. "And then with Vanessa, it wasn't that at all, but it was sort of masked in. This is a relationship where that certainly exists."
He went on to clarify how he confused the signals early in the relationship. "So you find yourself thinking like, 'Oh, it's just kind of a new version. Like, oh, she loves me, but this is her way of loving me.'"
The tumultuous past of the former couple has played out in public view over the years, with Green and Marcil occasionally weighing in on their co-parenting difficulties and personal wreckage. Green's recent introspection is a rare insight into the deeper emotional tides driving the split — and how personal growth is assisting him in gaining greater understanding of his own past.
Now married to professional dancer Sharna Burgess, with whom he has a young son, Green seems to be tackling love with an increased level of self-knowledge and candor.