The dominatrix-turned-actress sat down for an interview with The Times, published early Saturday morning, saying she regrets dating the rap star ... claiming she wanted to keep their coupling low-key -- but, it went public without her OK.

JF says she thinks she was being used as a pawn during their relationship ... before confirming Ye's "the artist" she wrote about in her memoir "Down the Drain" -- a person she claims picked out her outfits, offered to pay for a boob job and asked her to sign an NDA.

Fox goes on to say the relationship put her in "the most uncomfortable position in my life and that’s saying a lot. I don’t want to be known for being anyone’s girlfriend."

Kanye and Julia dated briefly in late 2021/early 2022 ... spending just a few weeks together before calling off their relationship.

They did spend some memorable time together ... taking on Paris, France in fully leather outfits -- though JF later said in her memoir the couple fought pretty much the entire time.

While she dated Ye back in the day, Julia has since come out as a lesbian ... revealing the news via TikTok over the summer in a teasing TikTok.