Tess Ward has refused to confirm whether she's in a relationship with Harry Styles, but described the backlash she's received since the reports broke as "very bizarre".

The 27-year-old chef was romantically linked to the former One Direction singer last week after being photographed in the passenger seat of his car. She was also spotted wearing the same red floral Gucci shirt that he had worn a few days earlier.

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The Naked Chef author - who promotes healthy eating - has been deluged with "hate" messages from supposed Harry fans on social media, telling The Times: "It's been so weird, the hate messages... very bizarre.

"I'm not the kind of person who's interested in fame and if you're put in an environment which you don't understand and you can't control and you don't want, it's horrible."

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When asked if she really is dating the 23-year-old pop star, she replied: "I literally don't have anything to say about that."

Her PR interjected: "My clients don't talk about their personal lives."

The unwanted attention has prompted Tess to delete Snapchat, and "take a break" from social media.

"Snapchat I've deleted, Twitter — don't really do it," she continued. "I'm even a little bit out of love with Instagram.

"At the moment I'm getting a lot of direct messages there, but I respectfully choose not to reply to them, because they're all, like, er . . . interesting. I want a break.I just want a break."

Tess recently shared a picture of her healthy-looking avocado brunch on Instagram, before thanking her followers and asking them to "be kind" in the caption.

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"Also for everyone following and messaging me, I am thankful but please be kind with your words. All I want is to share beautiful food with you all," she wrote.

From: Cosmopolitan UK
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Naomi Gordon

Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.