Vaughn, who is now happily married to wife Kyla Weber, with whom he has two kids, told Playboy magazine that he spent time not getting drawn into that attention.
"You know, she's great. For me personally -- and I think most well-known actors who are together feel this way -- I never enjoyed the paparazzi side of it.
"You like someone and you're spending time with them; that's separate and that was all fine. But I really spent most of that time finding ways not to be drawn into the attention," he told the magazine.
"I think lying low and not talking about it put me in a good position later. Because I just wasn't part of anything.