Naomi Watts is getting candid about her love life!

During an event in Hampton Bays, New York on Thursday night (August 31), the 54-year-old actress opened up about keeping her libido “alive” while going through menopause.

She noted that open communication with her husband Billy Crudup has been the “biggest key” to their successful relationship, adding that they have “pretty great sex.”

Keep reading to find out more…

“We’ve heard tonight that there are complications, keeping the sex and the libido alive and everything, but sometimes people have the complete reverse effect,” Naomi said. The Mulholland Drive actress previously revealed that she went through early menopause when she was 36 years old, an experience that inspired her to create her own wellness brand, Stripes.

She continued, “In fact, I think there was a time, generations ago, and talking about what menopause actually was… it was hysteria and some women were nymphomaniacs. Like we were just crazy old crows that wanted sex too much. I personally think sex becomes more pleasurable when you take out the fear of like making babies.

“…When you know it’s not the right time… like what is that expression… ‘closed for business, open for pleasure!’ It feels more, ‘I’m going to do this for myself,’” Naomi explained. “You’re more confident with yourself, you’ve had experience, you’re wiser, you’re not going to be all like, ‘Oh I want to turn the lights down.’”

She also admitted that she and Billy - who tied the knot back in June – were still in the “honeymoon stage.”

“Like whatever it is you’re going through, if you can talk to your partner, if you can be honest and have a really authentic conversation and take away the awkwardness, and most of the time if they’re good people, they will be empathetic and that’s hot,” Naomi said. “That’s really hot when you can be honest and the conversation lands really well to the point where, ‘yeah we got through the awkwardness and now like, let’s kick off some fun.’”

She went on to say that in the beginning of her relationship with Billy, she was a little insecure because she had just started using estrogen patches.

“This is a little bit personal but in the beginning of my relationship, I was wearing my patch and I was nervous that my new lover was going to see it,” she revealed. “I went into the bathroom just before it would start and I’d be in there [trying to scrub off the sticky residue that the patch left on her skin] and then I’d come out and my gorgeous partner said, ‘Are you okay? Is everything okay?’

“And the minute I brought honesty into the room, despite how awkward and hard that was for me — I’ve had so much shame about it — he knew how to behave, he knew what cues to follow, he was 100 per cent empathetic and I can safely say we went on to have you know, pretty great sex that night,” she shared.

She added that “it gets exhausting having all these rules and this ideology of how you must look,” telling audience members to “get what [you] want and say it boldly.”

“I think it takes experience and growing into yourself and getting to know what you love and like, and you can’t learn that or buy that, that is just the upside of leaning into this phase of life, and so I think a lot of women are horny at this age,” she said.

Naomi even answered a question about her favorite sex position, replying: “On top, underneath! Right now I’m not fussy.”

Find out what one of Billy Crudup‘s exes said about his marriage to Naomi.