Harry Styles' ex-girlfriend Caroline Flack recently opened up about the troubles of dating the One Direction frontman.

The couple first met when Flack interviewed Styles on "The X Factor (U.K.)." Soon after, the "Midnight Memories" hitmaker persistently sent his love interest email until she agreed to go on a date. They then got into a relationship that lasted for three months.

Caroline Flack, who is 14 years older than Harry Styles, was immediately branded with "cradle-snatcher" and received tremendous amounts of hate mail. One magazine even demonstrated how to make a voodoo doll of her. "When the bullies first started it became a bit all-consuming and I got a bit lost in my thoughts," Flack told Daily Mail. "It was horrible. But the more you learn about Twitter the more you realize it's an outlet for people to be angry."

"I was always comfortable in my own skin until people started criticizing it," she continued. "They'd talk about my appearance and call me fat. At first I thought, 'what have I done wrong?' Now I know there are a lot of angry people out there. You don't get the ups without the downs, or the downs without the ups."

Going to therapy for many years after her parents got divorced, the English television presenter was able to cope with harsh online abuse with the techniques she previously learned. "For me, therapy was a way of changing the way you think," she said. "I do over-think things. I've always been a worrier, ever since I was a child. My twin sister has always been the complete opposite and I think I worry more about her than she does about herself. Her three children call me Aunty Safe when they're with me; I'm over-protective. I'm prepared for every eventuality."

Flack is now dating music manager Jack Street, who is 10 years younger than her. She says she just laughs at her reputation as a cougar. "I suppose if someone is going to force you into a category it's a fun category to be in," she said. "No one really knows what's going on in my private life, though. Everyone has their secrets. I could be known for something a lot worse. It's not a bad way to live your life."