The best quotes from Harry Styles’ Rolling Stone interview

The singer and his director girlfriend have given their first joint interview. Juliana Piskorz has the juiciest lines, plus a timeline of their relationship
Harry Styles BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend -Coventry
1/31
Juliana Piskorz23 August 2022

Harry Styles has a smorgasbord of feathers in his bow (or feather boa, as he is partial to wearing): singing, acting, presenting, fashion designing, playing piano and, according to his recent Rolling Stone interview, a penchant for architecture. In the mammoth interview published yesterday, 28-year-old Styles went into detail about his house-hopping lockdown experience, weekly therapy sessions and the constant speculation about his sexuality and relationships that has dogged him in the 12 years since he exploded into the public eye.

In the interview Rolling Stone reporter Brittany Spanos follows the pop icon around on his “Love on Tour” tour, observing as he played to packed out stadiums from Coachella to Wembley. Apart from coming across as generally affable and highly relatable, endearing him even further in hearts of his legion of fans, the interview also features commentary from Harry’s girlfriend, actress and director Olivia Wilde. So without further ado, here are the best quotes from the piece.

On his post-show shower ritual: “It’s really unnatural to stand in front of that many people and have that experience…Washing it off, you’re just a naked person, in your most vulnerable, human form. Just like a naked baby, basically.”

Amanda Fordyce/Rolling Stone UK

On having tonsillitis during One Direction’s 2014 Wembley show:“I was miserable...We played the first one, and I remember I came off, got in the car, and just started crying because I was so disappointed.”

On starting therapy: “I committed to doing it once a week,” he explains. “I felt like I exercise every day and take care of my body, so why wouldn’t I do that with my mind? So many of your emotions are so foreign before you start analysing them properly. I like to really lean into [an emotion] and look at it in the face. Not like, ‘I don’t want to feel like this,’ but more like, ‘What is it that makes me feel this way?’”

On compartmentalising private and public life: “I’ve never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it’s benefited me positively…There’s always going to be a version of a narrative, and I think I just decided I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to correct it or redirect it in some way.”

Harry Styles (second far right) originally shot to fame as a member of boyband One Direction on UK talent show The X Factor in 2010
Getty Images

On his sex life: “Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone. If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.”

On relationships in the public eye: “It’s obviously a difficult feeling to feel like being close to me means you’re at the ransom of a corner of Twitter or something… I just wanted to sing. I didn’t want to get into it if I was going to hurt people like that.”

“Can you imagine…going on a second date with someone and being like, ‘OK, there’s this corner of the thing, and they’re going to say this, and it’s going to be really crazy, and they’re going to be really mean, and it’s not real.… But anyway, what do you want to eat?’”

On friendship: “What I value the most from my friends is I feel like I’m constantly reminded that it’s OK to be flawed. I think I’m pretty messy and make mistakes sometimes. I think that’s the most loving thing: You can see someone’s imperfections, and it’s not [that you] love them in spite of that, but it’s [that you] love them with that.”

On Roe versus Wade: “I can’t begin to imagine how terrifying it is to be a woman in America at the moment.”

Harry Styles (Ian West/PA)
PA Wire

On racial injustice: “Pretending as a white person you don’t get a head start just isn’t true”.

On his personality: “When I’m working, I work really hard, and I think I’m really professional…Then when I’m not, I’m not. I’d like to think I’m open, and probably quite stubborn, too, and willing to be vulnerable. I can be selfish sometimes, but I’d like to think that I’m a caring person.”

Olivia Wilde on Styles’ acting: “(Chris) Pine backed away, understanding this was Harry’s moment…The camera operator followed him as he paced around the stage like a kind of wild animal… We were all gobsmacked at the monitor. I think even Harry was surprised by it. Those are the best moments for an actor — when you’re completely outside your body.”

Brief timeline of Harry and Olivia Wilde’s relationship

GC Images
September 2020: Harry Styles is cast in Olivia Wilde’s film Don’t Worry Darling.
November 2020: Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis announce their separation.
January 2021: Olivia and Harry are pictured holding hands at the wedding of his agent in Montecito, California. 
March 2021: Olivia subtly supports Harry after his Grammy win for Watermelon Sugar by posting a photo of Paul Mcartney eating a watermelon slice on her Instagram story.
Spring 2021: The couple spend quality time together in London.
July 2021: The couple are pictured kissing on a boat in Italy.
September 2021: Olivia supports Harry at the opening night of his world tour in Las Vegas.
November 2021: Olivia posts an Instagram photo of herself wearing Harry’s gold cross necklace.
February 2022: The couple celebrate Harry’s 28th birthday in a club in London. 
May 2022: Olivia promotes Harry’s new album on Instagram.
August 2022: Harry and Olivia are spotted on a date at Rubirosa in New York. 

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in