Chad Lowe is seeing producer Kim Painter, his rep confirms.

“They are dating,” Lowe’s publicist, Cindy Guagenti, tells PEOPLE. Lowe, 39, split last year from wife Hilary Swank.

Lowe, 39, and Painter were spotted together at the Nov. 15 L.A. premiere of Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, which Painter co-produced.

Since then, they’ve been making appearances all over L.A. (as the New York Daily News first reported) – including a recent trip to Mr. Chow for dinner with Lowe’s family.

And after the Golden Globes, they chatted and smooched at the InStyle/Warner Bros. party, and later, while waiting at the valet stand, Lowe introduced Painter to friends including Emilio Estevez, Seal and Heidi Klum. Painter grumbled about the cold and Lowe gave her a snuggle to keep her warm.

Romance isn’t the only thing going well in Lowe’s life: On Jan. 29, the actor-director, who helmed last year’s Beautiful Ohio, will make his debut as Deputy Chief of Staff Reed Pollock on FOX’s 24.

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In an interview to air on Monday’s episode of Extra, Chad Lowe, 38, opens up for the first time about his much-publicized split from Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, 32. Excerpts from the interview below:

On getting divorced:
“It has been a tough year and not something I expected. It’s very humbling.”

On Swank spilling details of Lowe’s past substance abuse to Vanity Fair:
“They were absolutely true, absolutely true. I’ve been sober for three and a half years and very grateful for that… I was disappointed that the details of our relationship became public.”

On Swank’s support:
“I am so grateful to Hilary for her support of me in a very difficult time in my life three and a half years ago. What hurt me more than anything is that people would think that she wasn’t there for me and she was…She was the love of my life and that’s not something you just shut off. I will always love her.”

On whether they’ll reconcile:
“Not in a marital sense…I’m very happy with my life and where it is now.” He admits, “It’s been a tough year and I’ve gotten through it and at this point with some perspective I can see that things really work out the way they are meant to.”

On whether he thinks he’ll find love again:
“I don’t know. I don’t think you can predict that…I’m very open to it and you know I take great solace in the fact that I know I am capable of really deep love.”

Lowe’s latest project is Beautiful Ohio, a 70s-era film starring William Hurt, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Julianna Margulies, which Lowe directed and produced. Watch for Lowe next season when he joins the cast of 24.

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Hilary Swank is opening up about the failure of her marriage. 

Chad Lowe’s “substance-abuse” problem was at the heart of the reason that his marriage to Hilary Swank broke up, the double Oscar-winning actress reveals in a candid new interview.

“I knew something was happening but I didn’t know what,” Swank tells Vanity Fair magazine. She also says her ex has been fighting his problem for years, and he is sober now. She does not name what substance he abused.

But, she says in excerpts from the interview obtained by the New York Post, “When I found out, it was such a shock because I never thought he’d keep something from me. And yet, on another level, it was a confirmation of something I was feeling that was keeping us from being completely solid.”

She goes on to say, “I don’t want to make it seem like that’s the sole reason; there were other factors. But that just kind of blew it open. It made me look at things a lot deeper. That’s when you realize it’s not going to work.”

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