AceShowbiz -

Sarah Jessica Parker talks about dating Robert Downey Jr. in a new interview with Vanity Fair. The "Sex and the City" alum says her seven-year relationship with the "Iron Man" actor who was battling drug and alcohol addictions back then taught her how to be a parent.

"It taught me how I love," she explains, "and what's the difference between loving and taking care of people and what's necessary and what grown-ups should and shouldn't do for one other. And maybe it taught me a little bit about being a parent, too, because the things that I ended up caring about and the way I cared for Downey, were things that might be more suitable for a parent."

"In a way," she continues, "I'm asking myself those same questions now - I have an almost 14-year-old - so what I should and shouldn't do for [son] James Wilkie. Like at what point do I let him lose something? When do I say, You gotta lose it in order to understand how to even cope. How are you going to develop your coping mechanisms if I'm fixing and when as a parent do I let go? When do I let go in a relationship? So I think I learned a lot about it. You don't know you're learning about it when you're in it. You're just in the day-to-day, caring about someone and loving them, and hopefully keeping them safe."

Sarah Jessica Parker is now married to actor Matthew Broderick. They have a son and twin daughters. Robert Downey Jr. is also happily married to producer Susan Levin. They share a son and daughter together. The Marvel actor also has another son from his previous marriage to actress/singer Deborah Falconer.