Livia Firth believes it's "important" to have "pyjama days" with Colin Firth and their kids.

She said: "We have pyjama days when we do absolutely nothing. It is important. We both work hard, so I decree weekends are when we do nothing but hang out and be together and relax."

The Italian beauty - who met Colin on a film set 19 years ago - explained spending so much time with their kids has helped them to become more open with each other and revealed their kids will talk to them about absolutely anything.

She continued: "We raise them as a mixture of Englishmen and Italians, I guess. We go to Italy all the time. That's how it is. We have a lively household. We talk about everything. Everything is up for debate."

However, she hinted she wasn't instantly attracted to the actor when they first met, even though his career has changed both of their lives since they first met.

Asked if it was love at first site for the couple, she laughed and told The Times newspaper: "You can never tell how life will go. Before I met Colin I was going along an entirely different path, and then I met him and it changed. And then he became Mr Darcy [Starring in an adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice'] and his life changed. Suddenly he is a heart-throb and everyone wants him and then I become this eco-warrior and ... this is how life is. Who knows what will happen? I didn't know I'd fall in love with Colin. I didn't know I would be doing this. But you'd be a fool not to go for things, to see how life changes and embrace it."