Brian Austin Green is opening up about a past romance he kept hidden and how it quietly affected his confidence.

The actor revealed that dating "Martin" star Tichina Arnold in secret during their 20s made him feel insecure and unsure of himself.

During a January 14 episode of Deon Cole's "Funny Knowing You" podcast, Green, 52, shared that Arnold was clear from the start that their relationship had to stay private.

"She was very clear on day one... 'Nobody can know about this,'" he said. "Can't tell people, can't talk about this."

Green explained that the two connected while working in the same TV circle during the 1990s. Arnold, now 56, was starring on "Martin," while Green was a breakout star on "Beverly Hills, 90210."

According to Yahoo, they also bonded over their shared love for hip-hop music. Arnold was a singer, and Green was producing music at the time, which led to late nights collaborating at his home.

What started as a friendship soon became romantic. "We ended up fooling around and kind of dating," Green said.

Brian Austin Green Admits Mindset Shift

But keeping their relationship secret took an emotional toll. "I have someone who I'm attracted to who's telling me, 'You can't tell anybody,'" he reflected, US Magazine reported.

"It really triggered something like, 'Oh, I'm not good enough. You don't even want your friends to know you're hanging out with me.'"

Green said that when Arnold later became open to sharing their relationship, his mindset had already changed.

"Somewhere in my mind, I had that switch of, 'This isn't a real relationship. This is just a thing we're doing,'" he said. "It didn't even start in a healthy way."

Despite the breakup, Green made it clear he still cares deeply for Arnold. "That's my girl. I will always have her back," he said. He added that he didn't want anyone to think he was speaking badly about her.

Arnold also discussed their past relationship during a previous episode of the same podcast.

She said she ended things because she believed Green would eventually marry someone else. "I knew it wasn't going anywhere," she said, calling Green "a really nice guy" and saying their time together was a good experience.

Green admitted he dated many Black women during that period because he was deeply involved in the hip-hop scene.

"Hip-hop was my world," he explained. "When you're dating someone, you usually date the people that you're around."

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