Charlize Theron says she never ghosted on Sean Penn

It's time to set the record straight.

Charlize Theron's breakup with Sean Penn last summer prompted a slew of rumors that she'd "ghosted" him -- and a lot of articles explaining exactly what the process entails.

For the uninitiated, ghosting involves ending a relationship with someone by ceasing all communication and just disappearing so as to avoid any messy confrontation.

• Sean Penn and Charlize Theron reportedly call it quits

But now Theron wants to make it clear that she did no such thing with Penn.

"There is a need to sensationalize things," she told WSJ magazine in an interview. "When you leave a relationship there has to be some f**king crazy story or some crazy drama. And the f**king ghosting thing -- like literally, I still don't even know what it is. It's just its own beast.

To hear Theron tell it, the dissolution of their relationship -- and engagement -- was much more straight-forward.

• Sean Penn breaks his silence on El Chapo interview

"We were in a relationship and then it didn't work anymore," she said. "And we both decided to separate. That's it."

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• Sean Penn