Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde at the Don't Worry Darling premiere
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Olivia Wilde blames ‘parasocial relationship’ on backlash to her dating Harry Styles

'People were f**king pissed'

Daisy Phillipson
17th June 2026, 18:01
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Olivia Wilde has opened up about the backlash to the 10-year age gap between her and Harry Styles, saying that ‘parasocial relationships’ were a significant factor.

The filmmaker was in the headlines recently when it emerged that Harry and Zoë Kravitz got engaged, with fake social media posts alleging that Olivia complained about it on Instagram (she didn’t). 

She and the singer dated after meeting on the set of her movie Don’t Worry Darling, before breaking up in 2022. Although both have moved on, that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten the backlash that resulted from their relationship. 

At the time, Olivia bore the brunt of a lot of the vitriol, and though many talked about the fact that she was 37 at the time while Harry was 27, she believes the reason is more related to the relationship fans have with the singer. 

Appearing on the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the filmmaker told host Alex Cooper, “Oh man, it really did upset people… It was crazy. I don’t know how much I understand it yet. I understand it had very little to do with me.”

“People were f**king pissed,” she added. “I think it also had a lot to do with the parasocial relationship people have with him, which is a burden that is very weighty and not something I envy. He carries it with grace.”

Olivia went on to say that it was all the more baffling as they “had the loveliest relationship, like so sweet and beautiful, and really very domestic and lovely.”

“I think we existed in this little bubble, and the judgment never got in, which was a miracle, a testament to us making that happen,” she said. “I think that people were mad. It was almost like the happiness made them mad.”

Olivia also addressed the wider issue of being so heavily judged in the public eye, commenting on a recent red carpet interview that captured her at an unflattering angle. 

The topic came up as she talked about how she would reassure herself. “I continued to try to tell myself, ‘It’s okay, you’re probably the only one noticing these things.’ Like my cadaver Gollum photo,” she quipped. 

She went on to highlight the moment she was served legal papers from her ex, Jason Sudeikis, on stage at CinemaCon in 2022. 

“I will never forget, one of the most f**ked up things that I went through among so many was that I was served papers on stage,” she said. 

“And I’ll just say that, now with enough space behind it, the part that I can laugh at is that – obviously it was incredibly traumatising, there’s so many elements to that – but I get through it because weirdly as women we’re taught to muscle through the most insane experiences. 

“I was like, ‘Just finish your speech.’ Got through it. I went backstage [and I] completely dissolved into a puddle.”

Again, Olivia tried to reassure herself that it wouldn’t go anywhere as no phones were allowed at the event, but then shortly after it was “on Page Six”. 

Not only that, but when she met Tom Cruise a couple of months later, he commented on it and said it was “f**ked up” what happened to her in Vegas. 

She reassured listeners that Jason didn’t know the lawyers would serve her on stage, and despite the emotional toll it had on her, she said, “The crazy thing is like once you make it through things like that, you kind of feel like you can make it through anything.”

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Featured images credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock