Kate Hudson experienced a "breakthrough" when she decided to stop dating.

The 45-year-old star stopped dating for 12 months, in a bid to break a pattern of bad relationships, and Kate now admits that it proved to be a turning point in her life.

The blonde beauty - who is currently engaged to Danny Fujikawa - told the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast: "I had this one sort of breakthrough that was very emotional that I don't think I would have been able to access if I had any distractions.

"It allowed me to see things much more clearly and then within six months, I didn't care about my phone. I didn't care if I was going out with my girlfriend, like, I wonder if so and so is going to be there, or like, we should call up so and so and then do that.

"There was no desire for me to be doing anything that had anything to do with potential flirtation."

Kate still has fond memories of being single.

She said: "I was so happy single. I was single for like three and a half years. I loved it."

Kate was married to Chris Robinson between 2000 and 2007, and she recently admitted that their romance was a huge learning curve for her.

The actress said on 'The Howard Stern Show': "My relationship with Chris was so beautiful and there was so much love there, but I really did grow out of it.

"That was not an easy break-up. I was very in love with him, but it wasn't going to be the rest of my life."

Kate believes Chris is a "brilliant" musician. However, his nomadic lifestyle put a strain on their relationship.

Kate shared: "With that comes this sort of life as a nomad, and as an artist, that can be hard for relationships."