Jennifer Aniston (AP File)

Jennifer Aniston has blasted critics who accuse the actress of using her love life for publicity, branding the insult "below the belt".

The former Friends star has enjoyed a series of high profile relationships over the years, including a five-year marriage to Brad Pitt, and romances with Vince Vaughn and singer John Mayer.

But she insists she's never used the romances to further her own career.

She says, "It's been incorrectly alleged that I'd abuse a romantic attachment as a publicity stunt. That's below the belt.

"To love and be loved is the most beautiful thing that can happen to a person, and one's own life is more important than all the glamour and fame in the world."