Pete Doherty claims he had a secret romance with Amy Winehouse.

The troubled rocker – who has struggled with drug addiction – revealed he and Winhouse were lovers before her death in July 2011 at the age of just 27 but he admitted things ended badly between them.

He told MailOnline: “This is difficult for me to admit. But, yes, it’s true. Amy and I were lovers. I loved her then and, well, I still do today. But towards the end, as only lovers can, she became quite mean and cruel to me. She didn’t suffer fools ... and believe me, she had a mean right hook.”

Doherty’s relationship with Kate Moss also ended badly but the supermodel – who is now married to Jamie Hince - recently reached out to him to see how he is.

He added: “I got a call from Kate a couple of weeks ago, which came as a surprise as we haven’t exchanged a word since it ended. And believe me, it ended nastily.

“But she was friendly and just asked me what I was up to. She wanted to know why I hadn’t written any songs recently and whether I was still taking drugs. She said she was staying clean and that she was very happily married.

“It came as a huge relief to hear from her and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. It was a really important call because it put a few unresolved issues to bed for me. She told me that despite everything that had happened between us, she was still rooting for me and that was nice. It means a lot to me to know that.”