Jewel dishes on secret relationship with Sean Penn: 'I liked his mind'

Jewel is sharing a lot of secrets about herself in her newmemoir, Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story, but one of the biggestsurprises is her revelation that she dated Sean Penn.

Jewel Photo: Getty Images

The singer reveals in her book that Sean called her father'shome in Alaska after he saw her make her TV debut on Conan O'Brien's talk showin 1995. Her dad, Atz Kilcher of Discovery's Alaska: The LastFrontier, thought it was a prank call and hung up. But Sean called back, andasked if Jewel would write a song for his upcoming film, The Crossing Guard.

They met up and worked on the movie together (she recordedthe song "Emily" for the film) and then things began to heat up.

"We spoke on the phone a lot and he was a fantasticflirt and I did not mind one bit," she wrote. "But I was no fool andknew I was most likely a trifle to him. I intended to give him no suchconquest. I put that man through his paces and he took it in stride."

Sean Penn Photo: Getty Images

Sean, who was previously married to Madonna and hadrecently split with actress Robin Wright, the mother of his two young children,Hopper and Dylan, "began to court me in earnest, following me around ontour, acting as my de facto roadie," she continued. "I was nowherenear famous, opening for Peter Murphy of Bauhaus in small clubs."

They attended the Venice Film Festival together but kepttheir romantic involvement under wraps.

"I enjoyed Sean and would eventually fall in love, butI did not go around holding hands or trying to be seen or noticed," Jeweladmitted. "I kept our burgeoning relationship very quiet. I was determinednot to be 'discovered' because I was dating someone in the public eye. I likedhis mind, and I had fun sparring with him."

Her first album, Pieces of You, was released 1995 and hersingle "Who Will Save Your Soul" became a smash hit after it debuted thefollowing June, making her an instant star.

The couple eventually split and Sean returned to Robin. Theymarried in 1996 and divorced in 2010 after a turbulent on-off relationship. The55-year-old ended his engagement to Charlize Theron earlier this year.

Jewel went on to wed cowboy Ty Murray. The couple welcomed ason, Kase, 4, and announced their divorce in 2014 after six years of marriage.

Jewel also discussed her breakup with Sean on The HowardStern Show on Monday.

"It was hard on me," she admitted. "He reallybelieved in me at a time when nobody else did. And he really made me feel goodabout myself and I was so desperate for that. Having that go away washard."