Hilary Swank Adjusts to Being on Her Own

For Hilary Swank, who announced last May that she was divorcing her husband of eight years Chad Lowe, being by herself is an entirely new experience.

"I've never lived alone before, ever," the double Oscar winner, now starring in Freedom Writers, tells InStyle for its February issue. She also says she does not have a permanent address and is now hunting for a new home.

"I went from living with my mom right to living with Chad," says Swank, 32. "Now with traveling a lot and not staying any place for long, I have a box filled with floating receipts, makeup I'll never wear, random dog toys, and a stack of greeting cards I pick out for friends, which inevitably end up in some storage unit."

Swank's independence has also translated into an international adventure that has included performing charity work in India, vacationing on Italy's Lake Como, and acting in three movies one after the other, according to the magazine,


Not that being peripatetic keeps her from being domestic. "I love Italian food and I make my own pasta," she says.

It also does not mean she is alone. As PEOPLE first reported in September, Swank is keeping company with her talent agent, John Campisi, who reportedly is also going through his own divorce.

"I'm in a relationship with a great guy who's not a public person," she tells InStyle, "and I want to respect that. But, yes, I am in a relationship."

As for what she thinks of being with someone, she also says, "I value relationships where people say what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear, so you evolve."