The actor is now engaged to “Dancing With the Stars” pro Sharna Burgess.

Brian Austin Green says Megan Fox split taught him not to start relationships based on ‘physical attraction’

The actor is now engaged to “Dancing With the Stars” pro Sharna Burgess.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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July 13, 2026 1:52 p.m. ET

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Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green in 2014. Credit:

David Livingston/Getty

- Brian Austin Green is opening up about what the end of his marriage to Megan Fox taught him.

- The *Beverly Hills, 90210* alum says he “led with physical attraction” in their 15-year relationship.

- “I genuinely believe that you you need to be friends with someone first,” Green now posits, pointing to his relationship with fiancée Sharna Burgess.

Brian Austin Green says he didn’t know what he wanted out of a relationship until after his split from ex-wife Megan Fox.

The* Beverly Hills, 90210* alum, who is now six years removed from the split and is currently engaged to* Dancing With the Stars* pro Sharna Burgess, recently opened up about how the breakup with Fox changed his approach to forging romantic connections.

“My ex and I were together for almost 15 years,” Green began during his July 12 appearance on the* I Do, Part 2** *podcast. “We were married for almost 10 years and I led with physical attraction.”

He explained, “First, I’d be physically attracted to somebody and then sort of build a relationship around that.”

Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox in 2007.

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

But in the wake of his divorce from Fox, with whom he shares three sons, Green said he wanted to approach things “differently.” At the time, Green was a single father of four (he is also dad to son Kassius with ex Vanessa Marcil). He had first coupled up with Fox in 2004 before they tied the knot in 2010. Fox initially filed for divorce in 2015, but the pair reconciled. In November 2020, she again filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2021.

On the heels of their split, Green said, “I knew that I didn’t want to repeat things that I had done. So I went through all sorts of therapy and all sorts of things to really figure out what it was that I brought into a relationship that was just toxic and wasn’t good and wasn’t helping the relationship at all.”

While he wasn’t necessarily looking for a new relationship when he met Burgess through mutual friends in 2020, the duo quickly noticed the chemistry between them. They initially began as friends before pursuing the relationship — which Green saw as a welcome change.

“I genuinely believe that you you need to be friends with someone first,” he posited, explaining that he and Burgess initially spent hours talking and sharing meals. “We were really really good, easy natural friends to begin with. Then we realized in being physical that we really worked well together, and then it became the relationship.”

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“When you start from a place of a genuine connection with someone, then you’re not so concerned about whether they are truly into you or not,” he explained, “because you guys are already speaking to each other in a very transparent way. Sharna and I talked about our best qualities and our worst qualities together. We sort of put it all out on the table.”

He continued, “For us, it was pretty apparent then like, ‘Oh, hey, we should stick with us. This seems to be working.’”

Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green in 2025.

River Callaway/Variety via Getty

Comparing their journey to his prior relationships, Green argued that the issues he faced with other women were inevitable, given how those romances began.

“Your approach to a relationship is the best way to know if it’s just a purely physical connection,” he said. “That’s only going to last for so long that you’re going to get to a point where you go, ‘I can’t stand that other person. So they’re not hot to me anymore.’”

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Green and Burgess made their relationship Instagram official in January 2021 and went on to compete together on season 30 of *Dancing with the Stars* later that year. After their elimination in week 4, they discovered they were pregnant with their first baby. On June 28, 2022, they welcomed their son, Zane Walker Green. Green popped the question in 2023, with the help of his kids.

Speaking to PEOPLE about their engagement that year, Burgess said, “Honestly, I’m so grateful to be able to say he’s my fiancé, not my boyfriend now.”

Green added, “We have a 15-month-old now. She’s honestly a mother to the other kids that are at the house, and it got to that point where it’s not doing justice to what our relationship is.”

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