There's no love lost between Chris Evans and Jenny Slate.
A week after the actress spoke candidly and sweetly about their nine-month relationship in a New York magazine cover story, it was Evans' turn to wax poetic. The actors began dating after filming the movie Gifted, which opens in select theaters Apr. 7 and expands nationwide Apr. 21.
Though they're no longer an item—and Slate revealed they haven't spoken since their split—Evans calls her his "favorite human." As he says in People's Apr. 10 issue (out Friday), "She's the best. I've never ever ever met someone in my life who has a mastery of the English language the way she does. She'll give you one sentence and there's no fat to it. You're like, 'You just chose such an unbelievable collection of words that beautifully articulate what you say.'"
"It's like an art form talking with her, because the visuals associated with her expression are just so colorful. She's so vulnerable, so honest, so interested in other people more than herself. She's incredibly compassionate," Evans continues. "There's just nothing to not love about her."
While Evans has typically been guarded when asked about his private life—something Slate noted in her New York profile—he understands the interest. "I chose to be an actor, you can't be an actor and then be like, 'I'm pissed people want to know about me!'" he says. "To some degree I welcome it, because I've always found that for the most part, in interviews, being anything less than candid feels wrong. To some degree it feels right to share certain things. I'm not too sour if all the sudden it feels like there's a large influx in curiosity. It's not a bad thing."
"And you know what, if the things you're doing and the things you're surrounding yourself with are quality people and they are beautiful experiences," he adds, "there's no shame in sharing."
It's a sentiment shared by Slate.
Though the 35-year-old actress was at times insecure dating the 35-year-old actor ("I didn't think I was his type"), she never blamed him for making her feel that way. "Chris is truly one of the kindest people I've ever met, to the point where sometimes I would look at him and it would kind of break my heart. He's really vulnerable, and he's really straightforward. He's like primary colors. He has beautiful, big, strong emotions, and he's really sure of them," Slate said. "It's just wonderful to be around. His heart is probably golden-colored, if you could paint it."
Slate loved how "unpretentious" Evans was, too. "He is a straight-up 35-year-old man who wants to play games. That's it. I was like, 'I'd better not discount this, because this is purity.'"
She also described Evans as a "sunny, loving, really fun person," which made their breakup harder. "I'd love to be his friend one day, but we threw down pretty hard. No regrets, though."