Axed Apprentice candidate Maria O'Connor has ruled out a show romance with Duane Bryan.
A tabloid report today suggested that the pair are talking every day and that O'Connor wants to start dating the 29-year-old Manchester businessman.
However, restaurateur O'Connor insisted to Digital Spy that claims the pair are an item are way off the mark.
"Duane and I get on really well but he's just a friend, there's definitely nothing going on," she said.
"I'm in a steady relationship with someone else and although it's early days I'm very happy."
O'Connor was fired from the BBC One show last night (March 28) after the girls' team lost their second consecutive task in an invention challenge.
Talking about her fellow contestants, she said: "Gabrielle [Omar] and Katie [Wright] were my favourites. They are my favourites. They are my girls. They are so lovely, they are unreal.
"The only person I didn't really get on with was Jane [McEvoy]. She's not my type of person, she comes across as a bit heartless and I just got fed up with it."
The Apprentice continues on Wednesday nights at 9pm on BBC One.
