Kiefer Sutherland Praises Julia Roberts for Calling off Their Engagement

09/27/2016 04:08 pm EDT

Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts were engaged to be married in 1991, but Roberts called off their wedding just three days before. Now, Sutherland is opening up about the decision, commending Roberts for her choice and praising her "courage."

During an an interview with Jess Cagle on the People/Entertainment Weekly network, Sutherland reveals he isn't harboring any ill will towards Roberts regarding her decision.

"I think she was being realistic for herself. I think that's much better," Sutherland told Cagle, according to the Daily Mail.

Sutherland and Roberts had met on the set of their movie Flatliners in 1990 and began dating, getting engaged in August of that same year. The pair's wedding was set to take place on 20th Century Fox's Soundstage 14 in June 1991, which was being decorated to resemble a garden paradise. Instead of getting married, however, Roberts went to Ireland with Sutherland's friend, Robert Patric, who she then dated for a short time.

"We were young and we were both very much in love, we had decided that we wanted to get married, but then this other thing kind of took over," Sutherland explained. He was just 24 at the time, and Roberts was 23.

"She was arguably the most famous woman in the world," he added, "and this wedding that was supposed to be something between the two of us became something so big."

"And then, in the middle of that, I think she had the courage – it wasn't what she wanted to do, in the end,' the actor said. "And I think it took a lot of courage, even amongst all of that other stuff, to be able to say, 'I can't do this.'"

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