The GRAMMY-winning singer and actress address negativity from fans about their relationship.
Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are addressing the small number of fans who have had negative things to say about their relationship.
The musician and the actress began their relationship in 2020 -- following the making of Don't Worry Darling -- and have been on the receiving end of scrutiny from “Harries” who have questioned the 10-year age gap in their relationship and created Twitter and TikTok videos debunking the validity of their romance.
“That obviously doesn’t make me feel good,” the 28-year-old GRAMMY-winning singer tells Rolling Stone about the small pocket of fans who bring negativity.
Styles, who has been in a series of high-profile romances since his One Direction heyday, says that although it’s not something he is unfamiliar with, it’s still uncomfortable to bring up when dating.
“Can you imagine,” he continues. “Going on a second date with someone and being like, ‘OK, there’s this corner of the thing, and they’re going to say this, and it’s going to be really crazy, and they’re going to be really mean, and it’s not real.… But anyway, what do you want to eat?’”
He adds, “It’s obviously a difficult feeling to feel like being close to me means you’re at the ransom of a corner of Twitter or something. I just wanted to sing. I didn’t want to get into it if I was going to hurt people like that.”
The “As It Was” singer was fortunate to find a partner in Wilde, who understands that the small corner of Twitter doesn’t reflect the entirety of her leading man’s fan base.
The Booksmart director calls Styles’ fans, “deeply loving people,” before adding that the internet hate is the exact opposite of his music.
“What I don’t understand about the cruelty you’re referencing is that that kind of toxic negativity is the antithesis of Harry, and everything he puts out there,” Wilde, 38, says. “I don’t personally believe the hateful energy defines his fan base at all. The majority of them are true champions of kindness.”
Styles notes that he has remained notoriously private about his relationships, which has been a bit of a blessing and a curse -- as there is a narrative that is created about his personal life, including questions about whether he identifies as "queer."
“I’ve never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it’s benefited me positively,” he tells the publication.
“There’s always going to be a version of a narrative, and I think I just decided I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to correct it or redirect it in some way,” he adds.
“Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone. If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.”
Styles admits that there is a split between his on-stage persona and the way he lives and interacts with the people closest to him in his personal life.
“When I’m working, I work really hard, and I think I’m really professional,” the "Watermelon Sugar" singer says. “Then when I’m not, I’m not. I’d like to think I’m open, and probably quite stubborn, too, and willing to be vulnerable. I can be selfish sometimes, but I’d like to think that I’m a caring person.”
Still, despite the internet chatter, and the way the outside world has begun to perceive him, he has been able to draw his own conclusion about “real love.”
“The fantasy, or the vision, or the version of you that people can build you up to be feels like a person that isn’t flawed,” he tells Rolling Stone.
“What I value the most from my friends is I feel like I’m constantly reminded that it’s OK to be flawed. I think I’m pretty messy and make mistakes sometimes," he adds. "I think that’s the most loving thing: You can see someone’s imperfections, and it’s not [that you] love them in spite of that, but it’s [that you] love them with that.”
Styles shares that the lessons he has learned about being open and honest is a lesson he hopes to pass on when he eventually becomes a father.
“Well, if I have kids at some point,” he says. “I will encourage them to be themselves and be vulnerable and share.”
Rolling Stone's first-ever global issue is on newsstands Sept 6.
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