Emily Ratajkowski Explains She Didn’t Think the Harry Styles Kiss Would Go Viral

In March, Emily Ratajkowski and Harry Styles shocked the internet with a viral video of the pair smooching in Tokyo. The covertly taken footage showed them kissing in the street while standing next to a van, and was taken just a few months after Styles ended his two-year relationship with director Olivia Wilde. Wilde and Ratajkowski have been friends, making the kiss even more surprising.

In a new interview with Spanish Vogue, the model said that she didn’t “expect this to happen.”

“But I think, in general, there’s a reason certain celebrities live in LA, hire security, don’t go to public restaurants,” she added. “It’s very bizarre to have certain experiences and then have the whole world know and comment on them.”

Ratajkowski recently divorced her ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, who she married after ending a relationship with musician Jeff Magid.

“I’m just a person who’s gone from a three-year relationship to a four-year one,” she explained. “This is the first time in a long time I’ve been in a dating stage… The interest there is in that particular area is very strange. Not that I’m surprised, but it’s a tiny slice of my life…. Most of my life is focused on my son and my work. But I guess these issues don’t inspire the same flashy headlines. The invasion of private aspects is very hard for me.”

She seemed to allude to a conflict between herself and Wilde following the kiss circulating online, saying, “That’s how it is. Just an unfortunate issue.”

The model said with her dating life she’s been facing “slut shaming” and feeling “frustrated” about how young women are portrayed by the media.

“In case you ask me about it, it’s more of the same,” she said. “I feel bad for Olivia [Wilde], because she has had to suffer this situation on several occasions.”

While Wilde was dating Styles, she was often subject to scrutiny as she split from her former partner Jason Sudeikis.

Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.