Kate Hudson reveals she didn't date for a year

Kate Hudson once took a "full year" off dating after her therapist advised her to focus on herself.

The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days actress agreed to take a break from romance when she was in her 30s and was even banned from flirting, in a bid to stop "repeating patterns".

"I was like, 'What?' I couldn't flirt -- none of it. But it was great," she told host Alex Cooper during Wednesday's episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast.

"I could talk to them, but I couldn't give them my number. So they'd be like, 'Can I have your number?' I'd be like, 'You know, no, I'm not there right now.'"

Kate has admitted the first few months were tough and she often felt "uncomfortable" with her situation.

However, the 45-year-old star revealed the plan soon began to work and being single became "strangely empowering".

"Because we were going through a very specific type of therapy, it was really about figuring out certain things that were happening to me," Kate explained. "And then I had this one sort of breakthrough that was very emotional that I don't think I would've been able to access if I had any distractions, so it allowed me to see things much more clearly."

When her therapist told Kate she could start dating again, the star feared she had forgotten how to act around men she was attracted to.

"A year later, my therapist was like, 'OK, I think you can flirt again.' I was like, 'What? I can flirt?' He's like, 'Yeah!' I was like, 'What does that mean? How do I flirt? I forgot.'"

Kate also spoke about her "first love" Chris Robinson and insisted she had no regrets about marrying the rocker when she was just 21.

"I didn't question it for a second," she said. "We were so connected. And Chris taught me so much about love, connection."