Danes, 36, admitted that it was a terrifying experience to face the public ridicule but she was 24 and in love with Crudup at that time.
The actress is now married to Hugh Dancy but in a chat with Howard Stern, she recalled the backlash that she faced at that time.
"That was a scary thing. That was really hard. I didn't know how to not do that," Danes said about the infamous 2003 incident.
"I was just in love with him. And needed to explore that and I was 24... I didn't quite know what those consequences would be," said the actress about the public relations disaster.
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"But it's okay. I went through it. We're friendly, we're friends."
Danes and the "Almost Famous" actor, 47, dated for four years.
Parker, 51, who has since kept quiet about the affair, will most likely address it in her upcoming memoir, 'Dear Mr You'.