Helena Bonham Carter loves gossip about her life

Hollywood actress Helena Bonham Carter is delighted that her family life with director Tim Burton is dogged with bizarre rumours because the weird gossip puts a "protective shell" around their privacy.

The actress and her longterm partner famously live in separate houses next door to each other in London, and she admits their domestic set-up has sparked a reputation they live in an Alice in Wonderland style fantasy world, reports Contactmusic.com.

But she is adamant the couple is happy that fans and critics spread strange rumours about their relationship because it keeps an air of mystery hanging over them.

"(People) think we're the Addams Family! But do you know what? I think all that is rather marvellous. The more myths that follow you, it's a more protective shell around you. You've got to keep the truth private - so the more sensational it is, the further it is from the truth," she said.