Emily Ratajkowski may have been dating Harry Styles months before the infamous video of them kissing had surfaced.
Two weeks before the 31-year-old model and the “Watermelon Sugar” singer were seen making out in Tokyo, Japan in a video captured by The Daily Mail, Ratajkowski appeared on the Going Mental with Eileen Kelly podcast where she gushed about a “kind of great” mystery man that she’s been dating.
“I just started dating someone that I kind of like, like, so that feels different,” she said during the podcast episode, which was released on 9 March. “I’m just like, ‘He’s kind of great.’ But if you had been talking to me four weeks ago, absolutely. I would be seeing someone and then suddenly the way he would walk would be like, ugh.”
When asked what she looks for in a partner, the My Body author explained that she is wanting to date someone “who is very independent” because she already has “a full life” of her own.
Ratajkowski, who filed for divorce from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard last September, also spoke about the difficulties of navigating casual dating as both a public figure and a single mother.
“It has been difficult because I’m a mom and I’m really protective of my time with my son,” she shared. “I’m really busy, so honestly finding the time to date and just feeling really tired a lot and then being like, ‘Why am I dating? I’m exhausted.’”
The model admitted that “it’s hard to avoid” what people are saying about her relationships or ongoing divorce on social media, and that she’s even been approached on set by people who have seen rumours about her circulating online.
“It’s hard, especially trying to casually date,” Ratajkowski continued. “Every time I’m photographed with someone, that’s happened where I’ve been photographed with somebody I’ve only hung out with twice. If you are seeing multiple people at the same time, it’s pretty brutal that they wake up and are like, ‘Oh didn’t hear from you for two days.’ Not that I need to worry about them, but it made it very complicated and gave me a lot of anxiety.”
She added, “That part of it has been hard but otherwise it’s been fun.”
Following the podcast appearance, Ratajkowski was spotted with Styles in Tokyo after the “As It Was” singer performed in Japan’s capital city as part of his world tour, Love on Tour. The video, which was first published by The Daily Mail, allegedly showed Styles and Ratajkowski locking lips and holding hands as people walked by.
The former One Direction member was most recently in a relationship with Don’t Worry Darling director, Olivia Wilde. The two called it quits in November 2022 after nearly two years of dating.
Meanwhile, Ratajkowski has previously opened up about her divorce from film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard after four years of marriage. The pair share two-year-old son, Sylvester Apollo Bear. While speaking with host Eileen Kelly on the Going Mental podcast, the model poked fun at the public’s reaction to rumours that Bear-McClard has cheated on Ratajkowski.
“It was so interesting that that was the reaction to that news, because I was just like: ‘Duh, men are trash, ladies,’” she joked. “Like, it doesn’t matter who you are, or how perfect you are, whatever.”
Since her split from her ex-husband, Ratajkowski has been romantically linked to actor Brad Pitt, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, and comedian Eric Andre – who posted an NSFW Instagram post with Ratajkowski in honour of Valentine’s Day. However, the model hinted at the end of a “situationship” just days after the post.
