Gemma Ward has spoken out about relationship with Heath Ledger, whom she met in New York only a few months before he passed away on 22 January 2008.
In an interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, Ward said: "I kind of met him at first and said, 'Listen my mum's living with me right now and I'm kind of going through a hard time and I'm not interested in having a serious relationship with somebody right now'.
"He was like, 'You know, um, let's just be there for each other through these hard times we're both going through.
"And we developed a relationship and we started seeing each other."
Ward and Ledger went on to spend Christmas together in Perth, where they both met each other's families. The Vogue cover girl described the 'The Dark Knight' star as "a devoted, devoted father".
She added: "There was no one like him - and no one will ever be like him.
"I'm just so grateful I got to meet him and get as close as I did with him."
Ward, who is preparing to take to the stage for The Perth Theatre Company's 'The Ugly One', is planning on juggling modelling and acting.
She said: "It is interesting because as a model you do play a certain role and you know as an actor you play another role,"
"I am very, very devoted to things that I'm passionate about. I think in terms of me shying away from modelling, I would like to clarify in some way that I was taking a break from many things in my life and obviously what people in the public see is that I'm pulling away from what is more public."
Talking about her recent career break, she added: "It was a reassessment of everything and I've made a commitment to myself to address some things that were coming up to do with Heath's passing and also things that were troubling me before we met.
"So it was a retreat from many things in my life and I did think it was important for me to focus on those things."
