Anne Hathaway was left red-faced on U.S. TV on Tuesday night as talk show host David Letterman grilled her about her headline-making split from Raffaello Follieri.

The actress used her appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman to blast tabloid myths about her relationship with the businessman, who is awaiting sentencing on 14 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering.

He is accused of posing as the Vatican's representative in America, and duping investors into believing the church would sell him property at a discount.

Hathaway told the presenter she had split with Follieri some time before his arrest, contrary to reports she ditched him when she discovered he was in trouble.

She said, "We were over. The relationship was absolutely done. I was on a flight from Australia when I found out."

But she was left cringing and laughing uncomfortably for much of the chat as Letterman poked fun at her.

At one point he asked, "Was there ever stuff missing from your purse?"

When she turned to his sidekick Paul Schaffer for help, he asked her, "Did a man ever introduce him to yourself as the Pope?"