London, May 6 (IANS) Actress Cameron Diaz is miffed at rumours surrounding her upcoming movie with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, and said she can't understand the "mentality" of people who don't get on with their former lovers.

"Life is long. Why would you ever live in the past when you can live in the present, and allow the future to be bright and happy and exciting? There's no reason. I think people's mentality is, 'It didn't work out!'," dailystar.co.uk quoted Diaz as saying.

The 38-year-old dated the pop star-turned-actor from 2003 to 2006, and they remained friends even after the break-up.

After it was announced they would star opposite each other in new comedy "Bad Teacher", there have been gossip over how the former couple could work together in such close proximity.

But Diaz insists she hates living in the past and has no issues working with her ex-partner.

"All I want for him is his happiness. And all he wants is my happiness. His isn't reliant on me, and mine isn't on him. It was at one point; we had that moment, but now... let's make a movie. Let's go have some fun. We're good at being funny together. We know how to do that. That's easy," she said.