Emma Watson has redefined what it means to be single with a new relationship status that challenges tradition and sparks a broader conversation about independence and identity.
Public figures are increasingly reshaping the language around love, breakups, and solitude. One of the most memorable examples came in 2014, when Gwyneth Paltrow introduced the now-famous term “conscious uncoupling” in a British Vogue essay to describe her amicable split from Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
“I wasn’t sure how a mother goes about untangling herself from the man with whom her DNA has co-mingled. It seemed impossible, that kind of extraction or extrication,” Paltrow wrote.
“I had never heard of the phrase ‘conscious uncoupling’. Frankly, the term sounded a bit full of itself, painfully progressive and hard to swallow… Was there a world where we could break up and not lose everything? Could we be a family, even though we were not a couple? We decided to try.”
The concept was mocked at first, but soon entered mainstream vocabulary, opening the door to more nuanced and self-respecting ways of understanding relationships – and endings.
‘Self-Partnered’
Now, Emma Watson is making headlines of her own for reframing how we talk about being single. In a 2019 interview with British Vogue, the Harry Potter star said she rejected the term “single” and introduced a new one.
“I never believed the whole ‘I’m happy single’ spiel,” the now 35-year-old actor said, “I was like, ‘This is totally [a] spiel.’ It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered.”
Though she proudly identifies as self-partnered, Watson isn’t ruling out romance altogether. In fact, she confirmed she’s dipping her toe in the dating pool: “Not one specific person…but I’m going on dates,” said the actor.
However, don’t expect to see the Beauty and the Beast star swiping through Tinder or Bumble.
“Dating apps are not on the cards for me,” she admitted. “My friends are really good at setting me up. Really good. What’s really nice is some of my best friends are people I got set up on a date with and it didn’t work out,” she said.
“I didn’t think it was possible. And it really is possible. And it’s actually great.”
Removes the stigma
Licensed Florida therapist Travis McNulty says the growing trend of redefining relationship labels reflects a broader cultural shift away from outdated standards.
“There’s a big shift in renaming the terms of relationships because there’s also a huge shift towards individuality in younger generations who are no longer wanting to be defined by the standards of traditional generations,” McNulty told NBC News.
“People form opinions based off of labels traditionally used to define a person’s relationship status, but when Emma Watson and Gwyneth Paltrow come out and use phrases like ‘self-partnered’ and ‘conscious uncoupling,’ it challenges the psychological implications and narratives behind the phrases being ‘single’ and ‘getting a divorce’. These terms remove the stigma associated with someone who may identify as either of these and ultimately lets people know, ‘I’m okay.’”
‘Complete as a solo individual’
California-based clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly also supports Watson’s terminology, arguing that it reframes selfhood as wholeness rather than lack.
“Self-partnering focuses on the ideal of being happy and complete as a solo individual. A self-partnered person would feel whole and fulfilled within the self and does not feel compelled to seek fulfillment through having another person as a partner,” Manly told NBC
Importantly, being self-partnered doesn’t mean rejecting romantic relationships altogether.
“To be truly self-partnered, one must often invest a great deal of time and energy on personal development,” Manly told NBC News. “This doesn’t mean self-partnered individuals never date or don’t consider marriage; instead, it simply reflects a commitment to knowing oneself first.”
Before you share this story, please let us know what terms you prefer to use when describing your relationship status!
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