Penelope Cruz wants to protect her romance

London: Oscar-award winning actress Penelope Cruz usually stays mum on her relationship with actor Javier Bardem but the the Spanish beauty has now said that she is only trying to "protect" her romance with him.

The 35-year-old actress, who is believed to be engaged to her `Jamon, Jamon` co-star, claims she refuses to discuss her love life because she doesn`t want to ruin her "important" relationship with the actor, Femalefirst reported. "It`s obvious that I`m in a relationship. And the reason I don`t want to talk abut it is to protect it, because it`s important to me. It`s as simple as that," Cruz said. The actor however, remained silent about the ring she has been sporting on her wedding finger. "That, is something I keep for myself, thank you," she added. "I know this may sound weird. But in my family no one has been putting into my mind the idea of being obsessed with marriage, so I haven`t really thought about it that much. In the end we all want to be happy, no? We all want the same thing, really. But we all have different ways to try to find that," Cruz said when she was asked her marriage plans. The actress will next be seen in `Nine`, one of the most anticipated movies this year that boasts of a large star cast and sees her portraying a seductress Carla Albanese, who tries to charm the character of Daniel Day-Lewis`. PTI