Emma Watson knows the deathly hallows of dating.
Though she believes dating can be hard for everyone, the Harry Potter alum detailed how her celebrity status often adds a layer of difficulty to her experience, as people often project their parasocial assumptions onto her.
“It does feel like my avatar enters the room unexpectedly all of a sudden,” Emma said on the Sept. 24 episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast. “And that can feel really dehumanizing. Seeing someone’s behavior completely switch and turn and change can be kind of a jarring experience.”
However, because of her notoriety, the 35-year-old—who was most recently linked to her fellow Oxford classmate Kieran Brown in July 2024—finds it “funny” when she’s on a date with someone who hasn’t seen her work.
“Occasionally, people will apologize to me for the fact they’ve not seen my films and I will be like, ‘Please don’t apologize,’” she continued. “‘That is bliss to me. Music to my ears that you’re not going to constantly be navigating—and me navigating with you—this projection of me.’”
The Beauty and the Beast actress added, “I want people to appreciate my work, but knowing you don’t have to navigate that extra degree of weirdness is helpful. A relief.”
Amid her unique dating experience as a well-known public figure, Emma, who previously dated Chord Overstreet and Perks of Being a Wallflowercostar Johnny Simmons, does find solace in one truth.
“What’s nice is, at the very least, dating for everyone is basically a complete disaster and free-for-all,” she explained. “So, I feel like I’m in good company in that sense.”
As for how Emma goes about dating?
“Dating apps are not on the cards for me,” she told British Vogue in 2022. “I’m very lucky in the sense that because I went to university and because I’ve done these other things outside of film, my friends are really good at setting me up.”
In fact, those friends may have previously been someone she went on a date with.
“What’s really nice is some of my best friends are people I got set up on a date with and it didn’t work out,” Emma continued. “It really is possible. And it’s actually great.”
Read on for a look back at Emma through the years.
