Olivia Wilde Looks Back on the Intense Reaction to Dating Harry Styles

Olivia Wilde is looking back on the intense criticism she faced during her relationship with Harry Styles, describing the public reaction as surprisingly extreme.

The actress and filmmaker met the global pop star while working on Don't Worry Darling in late 2020. The pair first sparked romance rumours when they were photographed together in January 2021 and remained together for nearly two years before ending their relationship in 2022.

Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Wilde opened up about the backlash surrounding her romance with someone a decade younger than her. "It really did upset people! People were f**king pissed!" she said.

"It’s wild because we had the loveliest relationship," she continued. "Like, so sweet and so beautiful and really actually very domestic and kind and lovely. I think that we existed in like this little bubble and the judgment never really got into that bubble, which was a miracle and a real testament to us making that happen... It's almost like the happiness made them mad."

The former The O.C. star suggested that much of the criticism was less about her personally and more about society's views on women dating younger men, as well as the intense fan attachment surrounding the former One Direction member.

"(It's) a burden that is very weighty and not something I envy and he carries it with grace. I think that's an enormous responsibility," she said while praising Styles.

Alongside the scrutiny of her personal life, Wilde also found herself at the centre of relentless speculation surrounding Don't Worry Darling, including persistent reports of tension between her and actress Florence Pugh.

Reflecting on that period, Wilde admitted she often felt disconnected from the version of herself being portrayed in headlines. "I've never felt more disconnected from the person that people were talking about. I was like, 'Who are you talking about? Who's that girl?'"

"It was also very strange to see complete fiction traded as fact," she added. "Once there's a narrative formed, they are just trying to maintain that narrative and it has nothing to do with the truth anymore. It's just clickbait that they have to maintain. It doesn't matter what really happened at that point."

The 42 year old acknowledged that constantly seeing rumours spread was frustrating, but she ultimately understood that attempting to address every story would not change the situation.

"The pummelling that I took was so insanely disproportionate," she said.

After largely stepping away from the spotlight for several years, Wilde returned to the public eye earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where she supported her projects I Want Your Sex and The Invite, which she also directed.