Drew Barrymore knew her marriage to Will Kopelman was over long before they decided to get a divorce.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore

The 41-year-old actress recently announced she had separated from her beau following just four years of marriage but she has hinted things had turned sour between them long before they actually decided to split.

She said: "I had a really hard time a couple of months ago and kind of knew life was heading in a new direction."

But the blonde beauty has managed to pull herself together and get on with life with the help of a mystery confidant.

She added: "I called someone that I really trust, respect, and believe in, because he has always been the conductor of grace. I said, 'What's your advice?'

"And he said, 'You put one foot in front of the other.' I hung up the phone and I thought, 'That is why I call this person.' It's not only succinct, but it's almost physically productive and life-choice productive.

"It's just great advice. It's a kind of way in which to live, and I want to be like him. I want to be like that."

And, although she's still trying to come to terms with her split, Drew is determined to put on a brave face for the sake of their daughters Olive, three, and 23-month-old Frankie.

Speaking to PopSugar, she explained: "The only thing I care about, my life's mission and the only thing that matters as of now is that my daughters know what our lives were like, how we lived, and how much I love them. For them to know that they were not just loved, but ridiculously, utterly, life-alteringly loved. That's the only reason I'm here now!"

The 'Whip It!' actress and Will married in June 2012 but the actress previously admitted it wasn't a case of "love at first sight" when she got together with the 38-year-old art consultant.

Drew previously wed bartender Jeremy Thomas in 1994 but their marriage last less than two months and her union with 'Charlie's Angels' co-star Tom Green in 2001 was over within five months.