Cher started dating younger men because they were the "only ones" left.

The 77-year-old pop icon was initially married to Sonny Bono in the 1960s and then to Gregg Allman in the 1970s but joked that the reason she is now in a relationship with music producer Alexander Edwards, 37, is because all of the lovers she has had that were around her age have passed away.

Speaking on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show', she said: "The reason I got with younger men is because men my age are older...now they're all dead. But before, they were all just terrified to approach me, and younger men were the only ones."

The 'Believe' hitmaker added that she was "nervous" when she first met her boyfriend even though she knew the people in his inner circle and noted that she can be "really shy" when it comes to the opposite sex.

She said: "I was nervous and I knew of the people around him, and it wasn't that they were bad people, it was just that I was nervous of his reputation. I mean, I'm really shy when I'm not working and kinda shy around men."

The 'Burlesque' star - who has Chaz, 53, and Elijah, 46 with her first and second husband respectively - fueled speculation that she and Alexander were engaged around Christmas when she flashed a huge diamond ring but insisted that a wedding was not on the cards.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Cher was asked if she would ever get married again and she replied: "Probably not".

She added: "Because I’ve done it. I’m really happy with Alexander.

Asked if the ring in question was a symbol of engagement, she said: "Not so much. He just wanted to give it to me. Usually, I wear it on my right hand because he said: 'It’s the right ring for the right woman on the right hand'".