Sam Asghari's relationship with Britney Spears was a "blessing".

The 31-year-old model-and-actor met the Toxic hitmaker on the set of her 2016 Slumber Party music video and they went on to marry in 2022, only to split 14 months later, but he will always be grateful for their time together.

He told Playgirl magazine: "Everything just happened so naturally and normal.

"[It didn't matter if she was] super famous or not famous at all.

"It was a blessing. I fall in love, and I try to make life happen."

Sam refuses to speak badly about his former spouse and would rather "celebrate" the positive aspects of their time togethre.

Discussing an old Iranian proverb about not speaking ill of those you have eaten with as to share a meal is to pledge loyalty, he added: "And whatever follows is irrelevant.

"So, I always want to respect that. I'm always going to stick to that, and that's the number one thing for me...

"And the best thing you can do is celebrate the past, appreciate the past, and not dwell on the fact that it's over. Be happy it ever even happened."

And Sam doesn't want his previous high-profile marriage to distract from his acting career.

He said: "Because at the end of the day, I do have a future. I was acting before that relationship… and I will continue acting."

Sam - who is currently dating Los Angeles real estate agent Brooke Irvine - recently insisted he wishes the best for the Gimme More singer.

He told Us Weekly magazine: "I just hope the happiest for her. And like I said before that, I celebrate the past, and it's a big part of me, so I think everything should go well for her."

Earlier this year, Sam revealed that he wanted to sign a prenuptial agreement before marrying Britney so that she would be financially "protected".

He said on the Trading Secrets podcast: "I wanted her to have a prenup.

"I wanted to make sure she's protected, because throughout her life, everybody -- I don't know one person that's ever been in her life that didn't take advantage of her. So it's very sad. I wanted to make sure that I'm the person that [didn't] do that."

Sam also rubbished the suggestion that he tried to take advantage of Britney's fame and success.

He added: "I never get mad at the general public or fans or people that are seeing your life from a distance, especially now that I'm not in a relationship for over two years or a year and something.

"Looking from an outside perspective, I see there's an age difference, there's a fame difference, there's this, there's that. But realistically, we met as co-stars."