Bar Refaeli and Leonardo DiCaprio took a six-month break in their nearly five-year relationship, but the Israeli model isn't shedding any tears. In fact, she tells L'Isha magazine that the breakup was for the best. "It was a half year for which I am very grateful," Refaeli, 24, tells the magazine (via PEOPLE). "I needed it. I came to understand a lot of things about myself."

"I worked on myself [and] I grew up," Refaeli explains. "I didn't know what 'alone' was like. Today I know that a relationship can work only if you know you can be alone and you are not afraid. Today, I'm not afraid of being alone."