Kate Winslet talks Sam Mendes divorce, Ned Rocknroll marriage

Kate Winslet, whose secret marriage to Ned Rocknroll in December surprised even the tabloids, told Harper's Bazaar U.K. that the last four years have been a steep learning curve.

"I’ve really learnt a great deal about myself, in the last four years in particular," the 37-year-old cover girl told Harper's (via The Daily Mail).

"I think I can see more clearly now -- about how the pattern of past experiences has shaped who I am, and the characters I have played -- and I’m grateful for that."

Winslet, who won a Best Actress Oscar for "The Reader" in 2009 and ended her second marriage to director Sam Mendes in 2010, said that changes in her personal life have actually informed her work.

"I have so much more material to draw on for work -- rubble, bricks -- and I know I can carry it now," Winslet said. "I’m not going to drop it, and if I do, I’ll sift through it. Does that make any sense at all? Probably not..."

Winslet married Richard Branson's nephew, Rocknroll, in 2012 after meeting him on Branson's private Caribbean island, Necker.