Singer Leona Lewis has responded to snide media comments about the fact the she is still dating her electrician boyfriend.
The 24-year-old star has been seeing Lou Al-Chamaa since she was 17 and has known him all her life.
She described their relationship in an Observer interview as "best friends".
When asked about people who comment on their relationship, Lewis told The Observer: "This is real life, it isn't make believe. For people to think that you should leave someone because, all of a sudden, you're a singer and you have opportunities. I feel very sorry for them."
The 'X Factor' winner added: "It does make me angry. Because he's a great person. And it doesn't matter what you do in life, what your job is, where you come from.
"None of that matters to me, what matters is who you are as a person - nothing else."
