Posted Dec. 17, 2008

Anne Hathaway is quite the little multitasker. Seems she found a way to banish bad memories of her con-man ex, Raffaello Follieri, and drum up publicity for her forthcoming flick "Bride Wars" all at the same time.

(©Vogue) Video: Anne's Vogue photo shoot

The doe-eyed actress, 26, opens up to the January issue of Vogue while browsing fashionable London shops in search of new lingerie and lounge-wear to replace the clothes she ditched in the closure-seeking aftermath of her June breakup.

"I was a 21-year-old kid when I met him," she tells the magazine of her four-year romance with Follieri, which ended shortly before he was busted for conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering (he pleaded guilty and is to spend roughly the same amount of time in the pokey as he did with Hathaway). "It wasn't a huge, dramatic breakup. We were in the process of winding it down when he was arrested."

And the end apparently came not because the relationship was built on a web of lies or the FBI was closing in. Instead, it was due to a metaphor-crammed moment of clarity prompted by some wilting flowers.

Anne recalls how she purchased some cherry blossom branches in the spring that lasted a month "and were beautiful even as they died."

But when she was out of town one weekend, Follieri, who preferred things "fancier and perfect," as evidenced by the $37,000-a-month Trump Tower apartment they shared and the many jewels he showered her with (the Feds reportedly recovered the sparklers), told their maid to throw them out.

At that point, says Hathaway, she realized that "we saw things differently."

"I don't talk about this, except when I'm asked," she sighs of the bust-up. "It's not a part of my life anymore. It's a complicated situation that has the ability to define me in ways I am not comfortable with."

Anne joins students in Harlem on Dec. 15 as part of a program to combat hunger. (©AP)

These days, the actress is attempting to define herself through diet ("I don't eat anything with a face," she declares, adding that she gave up her vegetarian stance while with Follieri because it was "easier for the lifestyle at that time"); entertainment choices ("After my breakup happened, I thought, concerts until the end of the year," she enthuses, citing rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and TV on the Radio as favorites); and fashion ("I realized that the past five years of my life had been spent accumulating things I like but never asked if I love," she admits. "I'm looking for a pared-down truth").

Vogue, which apparently didn't hold that whole "Devil Wears Prada" thing against her, says she achieved that last point by picking out a "whole stack of silk and cashmere slip dresses, tap pants, bras and teddies" to lounge around in.

As for the current state of her love life, Anne, who has recently been linked to little-known actor Adam Shulman, is looking forward.

As she twirled around a boutique in a vintage Diane von Furstenberg aqua-colored wrap dress, she observed, "I can go on a date in this. Oh, my God. That's such a weird thought."

(©InStyle) More photos of Kate

Maybe she should talk over her feelings with her "Bride Wars" co-star Kate Hudson, who tells January's InStyle that she's determined to play the field for as long as she can.

"I'm actually enjoying being single right now because I really never have been," says the actress, 29, who called it quits this year with both Owen Wilson (for the second time) and Lance Armstrong.

"I feel good in relationships," adds Kate, who covered similar emotional territory with her sit-down in the January issue of Harper's Bazaar UK. "I enjoy them, so I feel my best when I'm in something solid. But it's also the first time I've ever taken a step back and gotten a new perspective. I'm just trying to be an adult on my own."

"So," pronounces the former Mrs. Chris Robinson, who is mom to 5-year-old Ryder, "I've made a conscious decision to try to stay single as long as possible."

But designer-pal Stella McCartney, who conducted the chat for the mag, doesn't let Kate's solo stance pass unchallenged, good-naturedly ribbing, "What's it been -- all of two weeks? Congratulations!"

Says Hudson, "Exactly."