British model Karen Elson has opened up about her split from rocker Jack White, insisting the experience was like "breaking up with a whole life".

The couple parted ways in 2011 after six years of marriage, but vowed to remain amicable for the sake of their two children Scarlett, seven, and Henry Lee, five, even holding a divorce party for friends and family in Nashville, Tennessee.

However, Elson admits she is now struggling to find romance again as potential suitors are put off by her friendship with her former partner.

She tells Harper's Bazaar, "You have a responsibility to your children. It's not like splitting up with a boyfriend in your twenties. You are breaking up with a whole life. It's not an easy process. But you've got to be friends, there is no choice. I am the product of a divorced family so I felt a responsibility to make that happen...

"Jack is always going to be in my life and I in his. But, of course, being close can create problems for others. It's not particularly easy for the new people who want to go out with us to know that we are still good friends."