Charlotte stands by her man

THE family of millionaire singing star Charlotte Church's is being torn apart by her refusal to dump the "bit of rough" boyfriend hawking secrets about her.

Charlotte, 16, has defied her mother Maria's order that she ditch Steven Johnson, who has been asking up to pounds 100,000 from newspapers to reveal intimate details about their relationship.

Budding DJ Johnson, 18, has told Charlotte that stories about his money-grabbing scheme are malicious - even though he arranged to meet reporters at a five-star hotel.

Voice of an Angel star Charlotte is standing by Johnson who calls himself DJ Diddie on the Cardiff music scene. A family source said last night: "The family are being torn apart. Despite the evidence, he is telling Charlotte that he hasn't been selling stories about her and she believes him."

The family banned Charlotte from seeing him after it emerged in March that they were dating but she carried on, snatching meetings at his mother Yvonne's council house.

The source added: "They just want to do the best for Charlotte and are trying to protect her. They want to gather hard evidence of what he has been saying."

Soprano Charlotte is worth pounds 10m, which she can't touch until she is 21, and is being groomed by Sony for stardom in the US.

Johnson was unavailable for comment last night.

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