Sean Penn has recalled a SWAT team forcing their way into his house during his marriage to Madonna

And Sean has now discussed their turbulent relationship, including an incident where Madonna, 65, had told police she was worried about guns in the house.

He recalled to the New York Times newspaper: "I had a freaking SWAT team come into my house.

"I said, 'I'm not coming out. I'm going to finish my breakfast.' The next thing I knew, windows were being broken all around the house and they came in.

"[Then] they had me in handcuffs."

And it was only years later that the 'Mystic River' actor learned there had been stories he had Madonna "trussed up like a turkey".

He noted: "I didn't know what 'trussed up' meant, first."

Sean dated one woman who, after a "lovely night" together, confronted him about the rumours the next morning while he was outside smoking.

He said: "She's looking at me like I killed her dog, [asking] about this hitting Madonna in the head with a baseball bat.

"Now I think it's fair to say that I'm not the biggest guy in the world. But if I hit Mike Tyson in the head with a baseball bat, he's going to the hospital."

The 'Into the Wild' director hailed Madonna as "someone I love" and contrasted the aftermath of their divorce to the 2010 end of his marriage to Robin Wright, the mother of his children Dylan, 33, and 30-year-old Hopper.

He said: "It turns out it's a lot quicker to repair a friendship after divorce if there are not kids involved.

"It took Robin and I quite a while. There was a lot of drama."

The 'Dead Man Walking' star also married Leila George in July 2020 but they split in October 2021, and he suggested his heart and brain were "shrinking" during their relationship.

He said: "On one of my marriages, the background noise of life was a 'Housewives of Beverly Hills' or another thing called 'Love Island'.

"Not even being in the room - I'm not saying this to be cute - I was dying. I felt my heart, my brain shrinking. It was an assault."

Sean is single at the moment and feels "thrilled every day".

He said: "I'm just free. If I'm going to be in a relationship, I'm still going to be free, or I'm not going to be in it, and I'm not going to be hurting. I don't sense I'll have my heart broken by romance again."