Will.I.Am finds rumors of a romance with Cheryl Cole "cool".

The Black Eyed Peas star - who first became friends with the brunette beauty when she appeared in his 'Heartbreaker' music video - insists he and Cheryl have a platonic relationship but he enjoys reading stories describing them as a couple.

He said: "The me and Cheryl rumors? Those are funny. I thought those rumors were cool. They weren't true but they were cool. They were cool rumors."

Being just friends with a girl is nothing new to the 35-year-old singer-and-producer, and he admits that he wasn't very successful with the opposite sex in high school.

He explained: "Ever since high school I would like a girl and they would say, 'I see you as my brother.' Wasn't that irritating? But it kept me out of trouble. If I'd had it the way I wanted it in high school, I wouldn't be focused on my music like I am now, and I'd probably have a billion kids.

"Girls saw me as a friend and it protected me from being distracted from my music. It was painful so I wrote songs about it."