Shilpa admits dating London-based Indian millionaire, Raj Kundra

For the first time, in an interview to UK's leading newspaper Daily Mail, Shilpa Shetty has revealed that a new relationship brought a long period of loneliness to an end and transformed her life.

"I am dating somebody. I have known him for some time but I have only just started to know him better. I hope he will be the one but I don't want to say too much because it is still very early on in our relationship," she said.

Though she has not named her new love, the daily claimed that it's none other than the London-born entrepreneur of Indian origin, Raj Kundra, whose former wife had blamed Shetty for wrecking their marriage.

"I'm not going to deny that it's him, but please don't say it is, because I don't want to frighten him off," Shilpa said.

"He respects and understands what I do and it is nice to be cared for. I have been very lonely for a very long time and it is nice to know I have somebody to look forward to seeing at the end of the day. At last I feel normal.

It has been an incredible year for me but I have also been very lonely. I have been away from home, in a foreign country and I haven't had a boyfriend for a very long time. I need someone to woo me. Magazines are always saying I am beautiful and millions of men want to woo me, but none has come forward because they are all so scared.

I can go to a party and sense that men really like me but they are in awe of me and won't come and ask me for a date. Being an Indian actress is bad enough but now I'm a celebrity in the UK it's too much. It would take a really secure man to handle the media attention. I'm eulogised by a lot of men, but they wouldn't take me home to meet their mothers."