Katie Melua regrets her earlier naive love songs, following the breakdown of her marriage.

The 36-year-old singer/songwriter split from motorcycle star James Toseland, 40, in August after eight years of marriage and Katie admitted some of her songs gave an unrealistic portrayal of forever love.

She said: "I've been guilty of singing about romantic love as though it's all meant to last forever. But it's not. And it's OK that it's not."

The star says she is now more realistic about love and her new album 'Album No 8' reflects her updated beliefs.

She explained to The Independent: "The hope is that if we take the pressure off, we can learn to be more accepting of ourselves and each other.

"Now I'm older I've stopped being afraid to depict life truthfully. But I will always acknowledge the greatness of the human spirit in its capability to handle that reality."

Katie previously admitted she was worried people would think her new album was a divorce record.

She said: "It's a fear, but it's not that big. It feels like people expect that when a long relationship ends, it will be a big trauma. It may have been thought that we would be incredibly depressed, sad or angry.

"I thought that was strange because it was not so for us. I respect him and we are friends, but we do not talk every day anymore."