I'm a little...

...intrigued and irritated. I wonder why it is that people from your past, who haven't been at all interested in your life for years, suddenly pop up again when they find out that you are, for instance, dating someone, pregnant or basically anything else in your life that may be a hot topic for gossip and become VERY interested in you. I have recently begun to experience this phenomenon. I cannot personally imagine having so little to do with myself that I was at all interested in these type of things if they were not pertaining to my closest friends. I might want to wish someone well if our paths happened to cross, but beyond that, it's really none of my business. This experience has left me wondering how this precise thought doesn't cross other people's minds...
So, you see, I am intrigued.
However, today, i think I am way more irritated. What am I supposed to say to these rather intrusive questions?
"It's none of your damn business, so back the fuck off..."
That doesn't seem at all polite, and I don't truly wish to offend anyone, but I do not like the trapped feeling that I am left with when I am asked these questions. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights, because I know that the ones doing the asking are only interested in any information that will become fodder for the gossip mill. My true friends know all of the gory details and they love me regardless, without judgement.
What bothers me the most is that I truly don't care what others think, but I also feel that it is my personal right to avoid the probable bullshit that will result if I answer honestly. I am very happy with my life and don't want the negativity bringing me down.
So, do I just ignore these people, the best I'm able?
Do I stand up and say, "why yes, I am participating in a relationship that you will not approve of on the basis of your moral stance" and then avoid them?
I don't know what to do....
I know there is no easy answer and I have made a choice in my life that makes me very happy, but a lot of people don't or refuse to try and understand.
I never in a million years thought I'd feel this way, because I have made every effort to delete the negative from my life, yet these people are seriously coming out of the cracks in the floor...
I feel a little better just venting this... but now, I just feel FRUSTRATED!