'Girls' star calls out her dirtbag ex-boyfriend's emotional abuse in a powerful essay.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, actress Zosia Mamet has penned a powerful call-to-arms essay, talking about an ex-boyfriend who once told the Girls star: “Your ambition is going to break my heart.”

Writing the essay for US women’s website Refinery29, Mamet said her then-boyfriend – a successful photographer who she says worked long hours and frequently prioritised his career over their relationship – had uttered the manipulative comment after she had shared some good career news:

She had an audition for an exciting acting role. She hadn’t yet been offered the role – or even received a callback, for that matter – but still, for her boyfriend, it was not okay.

"Suddenly, I found myself comforting a man who had just told me that my ambition, my dreams, my chosen path — EVERYTHING THAT I HAD BEEN WORKING TOWARDS SINCE I WAS A CHILD — was hurtful to him, that I was wrong for having these dreams, these hopes, these goals...and for working hard at them because that made me a bad girlfriend. Right?" Mamet writes.

"So, let’s break this down into its simplest form. When he put everything he had into his career and left nothing for me or our relationship, he was just doing his job and I should understand. But when I so much as mentioned a career opportunity, I was a heartless heartbreaking bitch," the 29-year-old continues.

She adds, "This was not the first and definitely not the last relationship I would have with a man who would tell me that my desire for success hurt him in some way, shape, or form."

Almost a decade on from ditching her aforementioned boyfriend, Mamet says she has "grown from a girl into a confident woman who knows my own worth".

"Reflecting on my personal journey, I’ve come to realise the changes that can and need to happen both here at home and globally for women’s rights. I have a voice and I’m gonna use it as a megaphone. Ladies — we have serious work to do," Mamet's essay continues.

Five years on from joining the cast of Girls and embodying the fast-talking, super-smart and slightly neurotic character of Shoshanna Shapiro, Mamet is a globally recognised actress and is soon to star in an off-Broadway play. So maybe that photographer's heart was broken at the expense of her ambition, but we're pretty, pretty, pretty bloody glad it was.