Marilyn helped Rachel Wood discover her inner Goth

Washington, (ANI): Actress Evan Rachel Wood says that her ex-boyfriend Marilyn Manson was the first person to fully appreciate her dark side. The pair started seeing each other last year (08), parting ways in October (08), but reconciling in 2009. The relationship recently came to an end for the second time but Wood doesn't regret dating Manson - because he gave her the strength to indulge in darker dress sense in public.

Wood says she credits Manson with helping her discover her inner Goth. "I would want to do something really dark or vintage or over-the-top for an award show, but my people would be like, 'It makes you look old, let's keep you young and fresh and light and fluffy.' And I hadn't gotten my voice yet, so I was just like, 'OK, you're right, I suck, I'll wear what you say,' " Contactmusic quoted her as telling the DailyBeast.com.

"But then I met (Manson), and I found somebody who appreciated all those things about me that I thought were wrong. He liked the music I liked, the way I dressed, the people I hung out with. "I was raised thinking that a relationship like that was just completely wrong. But I can't choose who I fall in love with, and I'm not going to not do something that makes me happy just because people disapprove. It seemed natural to us and that was all that mattered," she added.