Jennifer Love Hewitt takes her own advice on relationships

NEW YORK -- Jennifer Love Hewitt had more than a breakup on her hands when she recently split from her "Ghost Whisperer" co-star, Jamie Kennedy.

She was about to embark on a tour promoting her new book about relationships.

"It wasn't ideal timing," the 31-year-old actress admits, laughing. "Here's my relationship book and I'm single."

Still, she has gone ahead with the publicity tour for "The Day I Shot Cupid: My Name is Jennifer Love Hewitt and I'm a Love-Aholic." And she's embracing one of its lessons: Allow yourself 72 hours to wallow after a breakup. Then move forward.

"Put your big girl pants on and move on," Hewitt said. "Seventy-two hours is an appropriate time. After that you start to smell and your friends don't want to talk to you. ... It doesn't mean it fixes your feelings or takes away the sadness. You should just start to go, 'I'm OK.'"

The book also includes these tips: Accept that men will always check out other women. Guys hate to spoon. And one shouldn't be overzealous with a new significant other.

There's even a section written by Kennedy himself, who assures women that most guys like their girls curvy, not stick-thin.

Hewitt includes personal anecdotes, such as when she made his-and-her toiletry kits for a guy she was dating. She thought it was cute; he found it scary.

The book also sets the record straight on parts of Hewitt's relationship history, which has been played out in the press.

"My dating life has been written about really since I was 15 ... so this book is my way of saying, 'No, this is who I am and this is what I've really thought about that, and these are the things that I've done that maybe you didn't read about.'"

Despite her recent difficulties, Hewitt says there wouldn't be, say, Shakespeare without love-aholics like herself.

"Dreaming about romance is not any different than having a vision board, which is the big thing out there that you're supposed to do ... to put it out there in the universe."

The book is published by Hyperion, a division of ABC.