Kym Marsh can't stand people calling her partner Scott Ratcliff her "toyboy".
The former 'Coronation Street' star has defended fellow actress Kate Beckinsale after the 46-year-old actress came under fire for going out with 22-year-old musician Goody Grace, and admitted she hates it when people user the term to describe her beau, as it's "patronising" for him.
Writing in her OK! magazine column, she said: "Kate Beckinsale hit out at critics of her relationship with 22-year-old musician Goody Grace.
"Kate, who is 46, said she that men can do whatever they like but it can feel like a 'political act when women over 32 have any fun at all'.
"I totally agree with her.
"I'm with a younger man.
"Scott is 32 and I'm almost 44, I hate when people describe him as my 'toy boy', as I think it's patronising to him!
"Men are often with much younger women and no one bats an eyelid, but when it's the reverse, people seem to judge.
"I'm in the best relationship of my life and Scott and I have so much in common.
"Age is just a number."
Scott has recently returned from his army tour of Afghanistan and Kym has heaped praise on her boyfriend for lifting her spirits after months of feeling "anxious and stressed" during the coronavirus lockdown.
She continued: "Speaking of Scott, he's back and I'm buzzing with happiness as I write this column.
"Finally, after seven months away, Scott's back home for two months and I'm so glad to be with him again.
"We decorated the house and I got him a cake.
"The first morning that I woke up next to him, I felt on top of the world.
"I've been feeling anxious and stressed with the lockdown, but having him home has really lifted my spirits."
Kym had recently admitted she was finding co-parenting "stressful" during the lockdown.
The former Hear'Say singer admitted it is "challenging" because she knows both parents should have the right to see their kid, and insisted it was "only right" that her nine-year-old daughter went to stay with her dad, 'Hollyoaks' actor Jamie Lomas, recently after he hadn't seen her for a few weeks.
She said: "I'm currently child-free as my daughter Polly went to stay with her dad.
"She hadn't seen him in a few weeks and it was his birthday.
"So it was only right she got to spend time with him. It is stressful, though.
"Co-parenting is challenging in these circumstances because while both parents should have the right to see their child, it's nerve-wracking for a child to go between households.
"I just want her to be safe."
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