Actress Freida Pinto is so "proud" of the awards season recognition her Slumdog Millionaire co-star and ex-boyfriend Dev Patel received for his critically-acclaimed drama Lion.

The actors met and fell in love on the set of their Oscar-winning 2008 movie, and dated for six years before splitting in December, 2014.

They have both gone on to carve out careers in Hollywood, and Dev's turn in real-life drama Lion earned him a Best Supporting Actor nod at the 2017 Academy Awards, while he triumphed in the same category at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTAs).

Although the couple is no longer together, Freida has been enjoying witnessing his career success from afar.

"At the end of the day he's a fellow actor and my friend," she tells Red magazine. "I've seen the hard work he's put in, and seeing it pay off (by winning the BAFTA) is the most beautiful thing.

"How could I not feel proud?," she continues. "He was fantastic in that film (Lion)."

Freida previously revealed the couple's split was the result of her own "quarter-life crisis", although she learned plenty from the relationship.

"People come and go and everyone teaches you something," she says. "You need to embrace the good and bad, the ugly and beautiful."

And while the pair's break-up sounds extremely amicable, Freida insists she doesn't have any tips for others in similar situations.

"I'm not a love guru," she laughs. "I don't have any tips on how to keep a break-up friendly. Just be open and honest."

She also insists the pair's age gap - Dev is nearly six years her junior - did not play a part in the split: "When you're in a relationship, you're in a relationship," she shares. "You're in it because you love the person. Things like age and wealth, none of it matters. You make it work, that's it."