Rosamund Pike – who has been dating Robie Uniacke for almost a decade – believes there really is love at first sight.

The star took the time to explain her experiences with falling in love. She told Culture magazine: “No, I really believe in it – in someone who unsettles you, with whom you have an immediate connection. You just know something’s happening that might never happen again.

Yeah, I believe that. It’s the thing where your stomach flips over. You must have felt that. Have you never felt that? When your tummy just does a flip? That thing, that moment. That’s when you know.”

And the actress – who has two children with her partner – admits it was difficult choosing their names. She added: “I think they’re pleased with their names. The spirit of independence is important to me. They both, I think, encompass the spirit of independence.”

The 37-year-old beauty elaborated further about her own childhood, explaining that being an only-child helped “shape a lot of her imagination.”

“I definitely wanted people to play with. But I think it’s shaped a lot of my imagination, my ability to play on my own, as it were, to adventure on my own.

There was no one who went before you and knew all the answers. You have that you-against-the-world feeling. But maybe everyone has that, I don’t know.”

Rosamund wasn’t shy to admit she was often exposed to some adult-oriented ideas growing up.

While explaining her love for the novel Go-Between, she said: “That feeling of moving in an adult world was familiar to me. My parents are opera singers and I spent a lot of time backstage.

Opera deals with big, dramatic things – affairs of the heart, murder – so there was a wonderful exposure to very mature ideas. I was a fly on the wall – nothing inappropriate, but it was exciting for me to be around grown-ups and stay up late. I found it very intoxicating.”