Olivia Wilde believes the public’s reaction to her relationship with Harry Styles was influenced by their age difference, with the actress suggesting that many people were uncomfortable with her being older than the singer.
The Invite star made the comments during the Wednesday (June 17) episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she reflected on the scrutiny surrounding her romance with Styles and suggested that the relationship “upset people.”
Wilde cast Styles in her 2022 psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, and the pair dated from 2020 to 2022. The actress, who is now 42, is 10 years older than the British pop star.
“I understand it had very little to do with me,” Wilde said around the one-hour, 33-minute mark of the interview. “It is something that we have we’ve done this to women for a long time. Why is it? I don’t know. People were fucking pissed.”
The actress and director also addressed what she described as the “parasocial relationship” some of Harry Styles’ fans have with the singer, calling it a significant burden for someone at his level of fame.
“He carries it with grace. I think that is an enormous responsibility that all those stars have to carry, and it’s fucking impossible,” Wilde said.
Reflecting on their time together, Wilde described her relationship with the three-time Grammy winner as the “loveliest relationship,” explaining that they were able to create a private world away from public scrutiny.
“The judgment never really like got into that bubble, which was a miracle, a real testament to like to us like making that happen,” Wilde explained. “I think that people were mad. … It’s almost like the happiness made them mad.”
Wilde and Styles began dating in 2020, shortly after the actress ended her nine-year relationship with Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis. The former couple, who were once engaged, share two children, Otis Alexander, 12, and Daisy Josephine, 9.
Wilde also pointed out that Sudeikis later dated someone who was “even younger” than Styles.
Meanwhile, the former One Direction star became engaged to actress Zoë Kravitz in April after eight months of dating, though the couple has largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight.
