Actress Meg Ryan hates talking about her personal life because it feels "cheap", but insists the truth about her divorce from actor Dennis Quaid needs to come out.

The couple divorced in 2001, after 10 years of marriage, and the star has only just started speaking out about the reasons behind the split.

Ryan has mixed feelings about divulging her personal life saying, "It feels cheap, but the other part of me feels you do, as a female, have to express yourself."

The When Harry Met Sally star insists that for years she and Quaid were involved in a marriage "that needed to end much, much, much earlier than it actually did."

When asked by Allure magazine why she hasn't set the record straight she explains, "I probably should." The star then admitted to the magazine that one of the major reasons they split was because Quaid cheated on her during their marriage.

Ryan says, "My story is not unique to me. It's an incredible cliche! It's almost embarrassing the cliche. "I feel like the truth will come out. It can't help but come out."