Chelsea Handler Fesses Up to Fiddy Gift Return, 'Strong Feelings' for Hotelier

Wonderwall, Wednesday, May 11, 2011, 12:32pm (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

"We dated -- very casually." That's Chelsea Handler, confirming to CNN's Piers Morgan what everyone already knew: She cozied up to 50 Cent.

"He's a very sweet, nice guy," says the tart-tongued talk show host, who was first linked to Fiddy last October when they were snapped snuggling up at a New Orleans club. "I was sampling, kind of, the atmosphere, seeing what was out there, and I'm satiated."

The music mogul is "the complete antithesis of what you would imagine," shares Chelsea. "I mean, he's a sweetheart. He's sweet, funny. He's got a great sense of humor."

Handler, who denied the romance rumblings while simultaneously working the PR angle, reportedly parted ways with the music mogul shortly before the holidays.

And it appears there was some truth to those rumors that she returned a supposedly "heartbroken" Fiddy's Christmas presents.

"I don't really like gifts from rappers in general, since I'm not a hooker," zings Chelsea. "I don't like when men buy me ridiculous gifts, especially when I don't know them well. I can buy my own gifts."

Handler quickly rebounded with handsome hotelier Andre Balazs, and though she happily posed with him on Saturday while promoting her latest book, "Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me," she refuses to get too personal about their romance.

"I'm seeing someone now," she allows. "I'm not being coy. We all know what's happening."

The relationship, which reportedly kicked off with a Sundance-set make-out session in January, also won't become fodder for her act.

"I have spent so much time exposing my personal life to everybody that I finally am in a situation where I feel like it's disrespectful to another person," Handler says of Balazs, whose exes include Uma Thurman and (allegedly) Courtney Love. "I've learned to respect somebody else's privacy. It's not about me, because obviously I would like to make fun of him as much as possible, but he has kids, so I have to be nice."

So, is it love?

"I have very strong feelings," Handler acknowledged with a laugh.

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