The Harry Potter star cleared up what she meant after using the term to describe her love life

As well as being an incredible actress, Emma Watson also has a knack for coining dating terms which seem to really resonate with a lot of people, too.

She gave us all a new piece of lingo to incorporate into our love lives a few years ago which is still going strong, but she wanted to clear up exactly what she meant by it to avoid any confusion.

Back in 2019, ahead of her thirtieth birthday, Watson was quizzed about her relationship status during an interview with Vogue, and how she felt about where she was in life as she approached the milestone.

The Harry Potter star opened up about how she ‘had all these ideas’ about where she should be when entering the third decade of her life, which made her feel ‘stressed and anxious’ about things she hadn’t got around to yet.

“And I realise it’s because there is suddenly this bloody influx of subliminal messaging around,” Watson said.

The actress, 34, described herself as ‘self-partnered’ rather than single (TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

She continued: “If you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby, and you are turning 30, and you’re not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career, or you’re still figuring things out…

“There’s just this incredible amount of anxiety.”

She went on to explain that she had never been convinced that people who claimed to be happy while single were actually content with their situation – until she herself realised she was at peace without a significant other.

Watson added: “It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered.”

So, what exactly does this mean?

Well, the term essentially describes a single person who is completely satisfied staying that way – they are fulfilled by themselves and don’t feel as though they need a relationship to complete them.

And it’s certainly a lot more sophisticated than dubbing yourself a single pringle with a smile on your face, isn’t it?

Watson explained what she meant by the term (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

Either way, people loved Watson’s take on single life and being ‘self-partnered’ became pretty popular.

But the Beauty and the Beast actress wanted to clarify exactly what she meant by the phrase when she sat down with Vogue again in December 2023, while discussing how she was comfortable with the path she was on in life.

Watson, 34, explained her comment wasn’t ‘necessarily about her celebrating being single’ but rather realising that she was appreciative of how she had become so comfortable flying solo.

She said: “Getting to the point when I was 30, I was realising, ‘Oh, maybe I’ve figured out some things about how to care for myself better – maybe quite well, actually’. And taking pride in that.”

But like the rest of us, she still leans on her tight knit circle of friends and family to help her through.

Watson added: “Coming out of Covid, I really understood the importance of building community, having community and investing, very intentionally, time and energy into that.”

Still, she didn’t close herself off entirely to love – and has reportedly been dating fellow Oxford University student Kieran Brown since July 2024.