There's not even any point me trying to clarify or justify it, because then you give those silly headlines power," he says. I never read gossip because it doesn't matter to me.""I remember going to this one Burberry show, and it was exciting.

They've always been very kind to me and, even as a gangly guy, I felt I was rocking their suits," he recalls.

The two had recently been snapped holding hands and getting cosy.

Dev's mother Anita had also been clicked along with the gorgeous twosome.

The former Skins actor said: "That would be a really long game for a horny 17-year-old to play.

The pair were sweethearts who met filming the Danny Boyle movie in 2008, but they confirmed their split at the end of last year.' Or, ' No, this just can't be' - the denial of it. "Running away from it is not going to help you find your answers. But that doesn't seem like the case for Pinto. They're never fun, and they usually come with a steady schedule of tears, sweatpants, and ice cream.And they mean nothing."I never read gossip because it doesn’t matter to me."Neither Freida nor Dev mentioned the split on their respective Twitter accounts but a source confirmed the news to American gossip site Us Weekly.There's no official reason cited for the split but many think the age gap - Dev is 24 and Freida 30 - may have something to do with it. He headlined one of the most acclaimed films of 2016, ' Lion,' having also gotten nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.Though he didn't win the golden lady, he did charm all and sundry alongside his endearingly proud and beaming mother, who was his Oscar date.Dev, who rose to global fame with Danny Boyle's ' Slumdog Millionaire,' had also been in a steady relationship with his co-star Freida Pinto.' Lion,' also starring Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Sunny Pawar, was directed by Garth Davis.A lot of my motivation has come from her, from being with her and knowing her." CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Freida Pinto and Dev Patel split up in December 2014 but remain very close Out of respect for Freida and their romance, he declined to comment any further on their break-up. "There is no way one person can sit down and go, ' But why did this happen to me?' Or, ' It was all going well, what the hell happened? That's never going to change." Freida Pinto is busy promoting her latest project, indie movie , which tells the true story of dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who started an underground dance troupe in Tehran, despite a strict religious ban during the 2009 Iranian election.The "Everybody has their own little discoveries to make.Their own surprises, their own disappointments, and they're all part and parcel of life," she said.