Annabelle Wallis doesn't want love life to distract from her work

British actress Annabelle Wallis strives to keep her love life under wraps because she doesn't want anything to distract fans from her work onscreen.

The Mummy star has reportedly been dating Coldplay frontman Chris Martin since the summer of 2015, but the pair has never discussed its relationship in public, and that's just the way Annabelle likes it.

The 32-year-old blonde insists knowing all about an actor's private life takes away an aspect of believability when it comes to portraying certain roles.

"It becomes hard when you know about someone's personal life - it's just distracting," she tells The Sydney Morning Herald. "It's a whole other job in itself if you go down that road."

Annabelle admits her wish to keep her two worlds separate is also partly to protect her loved ones from the inevitable media intrusion.

"I love the person I love, but it means so much to me that I like to keep it safe," she says, without naming her boyfriend. "I have nothing to hide. It's just that when you have people in your life that you care about, you get very protective of them, and it's not about you any more, it's about other people, and the ones you love are the ones you protect like a lioness."

Despite her refusal to share details about her romance in public, the actress hasn't been hiding her affections for singer Chris - the stars have been photographed together in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York since reports of their relationship first surfaced.

Chris previously dated Jennifer Lawrence following his 2014 marriage split from Gwyneth Paltrow. The former husband and wife, who share two children, finalized their divorce in July, 2016.