Charlize Theron wears Calvin Klein Collection on the cover of Vogue’s December 2011 issue, on newsstands Tuesday (November 22). Theron is busy promoting her big silver-screen comeback in “Young Adult,” a drama in which she plays a binge-drinking writer of teen romances who returns home to Minnesota in an attempt to win back her married high-school sweetheart. It’s her first major project in three years, and there’s a very personal reason why she was away from the spotlight so long: The 36-year-old South African reveals that when she and Irish actor Stuart Townsend started having troubles, she put her career on hold in an attempt to save their almost 10-year relationship. “It was sinking, and I had to give it a fight,” she says. “I really wanted to try and make it work. That was the priority. I wouldn’t do it any different way.” The couple eventually lost the battle, but Theron sees the bright side of the painful situation. “I’ve never been single,” she says. “This is the first time in my life. From the time I was 19, I’ve been in relationships, literally gone from one to the other within a month. It’s been good for me.” Despite not having a partner, Theron hasn’t given up on the idea of starting a family someday. “I do want to have kids, yeah,” she confesses. “I always have. I’ve never had a rush for it, a moment where I really wanted to do it. I don’t have a panic about it.” And while Theron has no idea how many babies she wants, she doesn’t rule out the possibility that she could follow in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s footsteps. “I don’t think about the amount so much,” she tells Vogue. “You have to be aware of what you can give. I don’t know where I’m going to be in five years. I might be in a place where I’m like, ‘Yeah! Six!’ ”