British actress Emma Watson rose to fame playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies. Nowadays, Watson is still acting here and there, but she is also making news for speaking out about societal issues.
A few years ago, Watson spoke at the UN to call for men to help women achieve gender equality. Recently, she has decided to denounce the word “single” and prefer to call herself something else. Read on below to find out why Watson does not use the word “single” anymore.
Watson sat down with British Vogue for the publication’s December issue. Here, she shared that she has had a lot of anxiety about the fact that she is turning 30 next year.
“I was like, ‘Why does everyone make such a big fuss about turning 30? This is not a big deal …’” Watson shared. “Cut to 29, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I feel so stressed and anxious.’ And I realize it’s because there is suddenly this bloody influx of subliminal messaging around.”
Part of that is the idea that she has not reached the milestones that people expect for those who are turning 30 years old. Watson continued: “If you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby and you are turning 30, and you’re not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career, or you’re still figuring things out … There’s just this incredible amount of anxiety.”
Upon figuring out that the world has placed an immense amount of pressure on young people — especially women — Watson decided to look at her current single status in a new way.
Emma Watson now prefers to use the word ‘self-partnered’ instead of ‘single’
Watson shared that she now sees being single as a positive thing.
“It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single],” she said. “I call it being self-partnered.”
While some people criticized Watson for trying to invent an unnecessarily new term — like Gwyneth Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling” phrase — others applauded her for re-framing what is often thought of as a negative thing into an idea that is more positive.
“I think the word is accurate,” a fan said on Twitter. “Single means alone, and implies she’s looking for a partner. Self partnering kinda puts that issue to rest- she’s single and not looking.”
Who has Emma Watson dated in the past?
Watson shared with Vanity Fair in 2017 that she does not like to talk about her love life often. Since she is one of the most famous actresses in the world, she understands that many people will naturally be curious about her personal business. However, it is important for Watson to have privacy in her own life as well as not put her partner through a media circus.
Despite the fact that Watson keeps her relationships well under wrap most of the time, onlookers still manage to dig up some information here and there.
One of Watson’s first public boyfriend was rugby player Tom Ducker, who she dated in 2006 when she was a teenager.
Afterward, Watson was linked to a few men, such as reality star Francis Boulle, businessman Jay Barrymore, musician Rafael Cebrian, model George Craig, and actor Johnny Simmons.
While studying at Oxford University in 2011, Watson had a more serious relationship with fellow student Will Adamowicz. The two were together for a few years before splitting due to Watson’s busy schedule.
Then she dated rugby player Matthew Janney and tech entrepreneur William “Mack” Knight throughout 2014 and 2015. Her most recent flame seems to be actor Chord Overstreet, who Watson was with for about six months in 2018.
These days, many fans seem to believe that she is dating Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton. Watson has always maintained that she and Felton are merely close friends, but a lot of people believe that there could be more to their relationship.
