Ashton Kutcher Opens Up About Going Through IVF and Miscarriage with Demi Moore: 'Really Painful'

Ashton Kutcher is opening up about a difficult time in his life and former relationship.

Speaking to Esquire for a digital cover interview, the actor, 44, talked candidly about his relationship with Demi Moore, during which the actress had a late-term miscarriage.

Asked if he thinks of the situation differently now than he did when he was in the midst of the relationship, Kutcher thoughtfully shared, "Losing a kid that you think you're going to have, and that close to thinking you're going to have a kid, is really, really painful. Everyone deals with that in different ways."

The couple was dealing with a number of challenges in the aftermath, from Moore's struggles with sobriety to their pursuit of growing their family — which also consisted of the Charlie's Angels actress' three daughters with ex-husband, Bruce Willis — through in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

"I love kids," Kutcher continued. "I wouldn't have gotten married to a woman that had three kids if I didn't love kids. The idea of having another kid would have been incredible."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Despite the pain and difficulty of that time, Kutcher said he accepted the outcome, adding, "For whatever reason, I had to have that experience."

Elsewhere in the interview, Kutcher discussed what it was like becoming a stepfather to Moore's daughters, Scout, Tallulah, and Rumer, at 26.

"I was 26, bearing the responsibility of an 8-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a 12-year-old," he shared. "That's how some teen parents must experience their twenties.

Today, Kutcher shares son Dimitri, 6, and daughter Wyatt, 8, with wife Mila Kunis.

During the summer of 2022, Kutcher and Kunis took their kids on "a crazy 10-day road trip."

"We just went cruising in a van to the national parks around the country. Just hanging out with our kids 24/7 and it was phenomenal," the Vengeance actor told PEOPLE.

"I have the best time with my kids," he added, noting that he wasn't particularly looking forward to Wyatt and Dimitri returning to school. "If I never had to send them back that would be my preference."