“It’s very bizarre to have certain experiences and then have the whole world know about them and comment on them.”
Emily Ratajkowski is getting real about what it’s like to date casually while in the spotlight — including that viral kiss with Harry Styles.
In a recent interview with Spanish Vogue, the model and podcast host addressed the fascination with her love life over the last several months after she filed for divorce from her ex, Bear McClard. The most recent one that set the internet ablaze, was a leaked video of Emrata and Harry Styles kissing at a street party in Tokyo. Many argued that the fun makeout session was just that, while others speculated about a budding romance.
After the video made waves online, rumors swirled that Harry’s ex-girlfriend Olivia Wilde was upset with Ratajkowski over the kiss. Emily Ratajkowski denied any type of confrontation between the two and instead chalked it up to “just an unfortunate issue.”
Emrata compared the situation to Adam Levine’s cheating scandal last year, in which a 23-year-old alleged that she had been having an affair with the Maroon 5 lead singer. The model said she was “frustrated” with the way the algorithm “focused on slut-shaming a 23-year-old girl” instead of “asking what happens to the person who is in a relationship and as such has contracted obligation.”
“In the case you ask me about [the Harry Styles video], it’s more of the same. I feel bad for Olivia because she has had to suffer this situation on several occasions,” Ratajkowski said.
The interviewer then asked Ratajkowski if she can ever get used to being “romantically exposed” to the world, to which she responded “No.”
“It’s very bizarre to have certain experiences and then have the whole world know about them and comment on them. I’m just a person who’s gone from a three-year relationship to a four-year relationship, so this is the first time in a long time that I’ve been in a dating stage,” Emrata said. “The interest there is in that particular area is very strange. Not that I’m surprised, but it’s a tiny slice of my life. Most of my life is focused on my son and my work. But I guess these issues don’t inspire the same flashy headlines. The invasion of private aspects is very hard for me.”
Ratajkowski has been romantically linked to multiple A-listers since separating from her ex, including Pete Davidson and Eric Andre.
She also said that she “didn’t expect this to happen” in terms of the Harry Styles video leak, adding that “certain celebrities live in LA, hire security, don’t go to public restaurants” for a reason.
“If there is something to understand from reading my book, it is that all I wanted was to have money, to have freedom. So the idea of giving it up for the sake of privacy is something I haven’t considered yet,” Emrata continued. “This means that articles, tweets, or TikToks will be made about my personal life in an imprecise way, but today it is worth it because I prefer to have freedom.”
Ratajkowski also said the attention on her personal life makes her worry about her 2-year-old son.
“It is complex to explain our relationship with the paparazzi. I don’t want [him] to be afraid of them. But, at the same time, he has to know that they are not his friends,” she continued.