Kristen Stewart on Why She Decided to Come Out: It ‘Seemed Important and Topical’

Kristen Stewart may have no problem opening up about her love life now, but she wasn’t always that way.

In an interview with The London Sunday Times, Stewart explained why she kept her relationship with former Twilight costar Robert Pattinson private.

“I didn’t talk about my first relationships that went public because I wanted things that are mine to be mine,” she said. “I hated it that details of my life were being turned into a commodity and peddled around the world.”

After coming to terms with her celebrity status, the actress realized she could help spread a positive message of acceptance. In July, she revealed for the first time that she had an on-again, off-again girlfriend, and during a recent hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, she joked that she is “like, so gay.”

“Considering I had so many eyes on me, I suddenly realized affects a greater number of people than just me,” she said. “It was an opportunity to surrender a bit of what was mine, to make even one other person feel good about themselves.”

But still, talking so much about her personal life is not something Stewart is particularly fond of. If she had her way, she would keep her “life private forever.”

“If it didn’t seem like a relevant topic, like something that needed help, I would have kept my life private forever,” she said. “When I was dating Rob, the public was the enemy — and that is no way to live. It wasn’t this grand statement, ‘I was so confused! Now I’ve realized who I am!’ I have not been struggling.”

As for why she decided to come out publicly, she said, “It just seemed important, and topical.”