Emma Had a ‘Huge Crush’ on Tom While Filming ‘Harry Potter’—Here’s Whether They Dated & Who She’s With Now
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As one of the famous actors in the world, it’s no secret that fans want to know who Emma Watson’s boyfriend is and whether she and her Harry Potter co-star, Tom Felton, ever dated after her “huge crush” on him while filming the movies.
In an interview with Glamour in 2012, Watson—who has starred in movies like the Harry Potter franchise and Beauty and the Beast—opened up about the struggle of dating in the public eye. “[Being famous is] difficult on my dating life, because anyone I get photographed with is automatically my boyfriend,” she said. “So, it just makes it look as if I’ve had, like, 6,000 boyfriends.” Watson also told Vanity Fair in 2017 that she has a rule to never talk about a boyfriend in an interview for her own privacy.
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“I want to be consistent,” she said. “I can’t talk about my boyfriend in an interview and then expect people not to take paparazzi pictures of me walking around outside my home. You can’t have it both ways.” She continued, “In Hollywood, who you’re dating gets tied up into your film promotion and becomes part of the performance and the circus. I would hate anyone that I were with to feel like they were in any way part of a show or an act. For me, it’s the difference between being able to have a life and not. If someone takes a photograph of me and posts it, within two seconds they’ve created a marker of exactly where I am within 10 meters. They can see what I’m wearing and who I’m with; I just can’t give that tracking data.”
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In an interview with British Vogue in 2020, Watson opened up about why she doesn’t like the word “single” and prefers the term “self-partnered” instead. “I never believed the whole ‘I’m happy single’ spiel,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is totally spiel.’ It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered.”
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So who is Emma Watson’s boyfriend and what’s the truth about romance rumors between her and Felton on the set of Harry Potter. Read on for who Emma Watson’s boyfriend is now and who she’s dated both past and present.
Tom Felton
Though Emma Watson and Tom Felton have never dated, Watson told Seventeen in 2011 that she had a “huge crush” on her Harry Potter co-star. (Felton played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, while Watson played Hermione Granger.) “For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush,” she said at the time. “He totally knows. We talked about it — we still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that’s cool.”
Watson also confirmed her crush on Felton in an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2012. “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I had a really terrible crush on Tom Felton,” she said. “We love a bad guy, and he was a few years older and he had a skateboard, and that just did it really.” She continued, “He used to do tricks on it. He was so cool. He totally knew [I had a crush]. And the thing is, he’d turn and go, ‘Oh, I see her in a younger, sisterly way.’ And it just broke my heart, still does.”
During HBO Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special in January 2022, Watson revealed that Felton rejected her as a kid because he saw her as his “little sister.” “I walked into the room where we were having tutoring,” she said. “The assignment that had been given was to draw what you thought god looked like, and Tom had drawn a girl with a backward cap on a skateboard. And I just don’t how to say it—I just fell in love with him. I used to come in every day and look for his number on the call sheet, it was number seven, and if his name was on the call sheet, it was an extra exciting day. He was three years above me and so for him he was like, you’re like my little sister.”
While Watson confirmed that nothing “ever, ever, ever happened romantically” between her and Felton, she confessed that they “just love each other.” Felton also confirmed that he and Watson have a “kinship” that was different than his friendships with other Harry Potter cast members. “I think I was in the hair and make-up chair and someone said something along the lines of, ‘Yeah, she had a crush on you,'” he said. “I became very protective over her. Yeah, I’ve always had a soft spot for her and that continues to the day…”There’s always been something that’s like, I don’t know, a kinship.”
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2019, Rupert Grint (who played Ron Weasley) hinted that he thinks Watson and Felton were more than just friends. “There was always something,” he said.“There was a little bit of a spark.” He continued,“We were kids. It was like any kind of playground romance … I didn’t have any sparks. I was spark-free.”
Francis Boulle (2008)
Emma Watson and Francis Boulle, a cast member on the U.K. reality TV series Made in Chelsea, dated for a short time in 2008. Boulle confirmed the romance in an interview with Heat magazine in 2011 and claimed that he broke up with Watson because of her level of fame. “We had a bit of a thing a while back,” he said. “But I have always been an ambitious person and I want to achieve my own notoriety for what I’ve done.” He continued, “That’s why I chose not to pursue it any longer, because I didn’t want to be the boyfriend of some child actress.”
He also confirmed at the time that he and Watson do not keep in touch, though they have a lot of the same friends. “We do share a lot of mutual friends and our paths cross from time to time,” he said. “I actually really like Emma. She’s a really cool person. She’s a very different person to who she is in the media. That’s what I liked about her—she’s very interesting.”
Rafael Cebrián (2009 – 2010)
Emma Watson and Rafael Cebrián, a Spanish musician, were first linked in November 2009 when they were photographed together at a New York Rangers game in New York City. The two split in May 2010, according to Us Weekly. In an interview with News of the World in 2013, however, Watson denied that she and Cebrián were ever in a relationship and claimed that they just became friends after meeting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. “I would like to clear it up. Rafael is not my boyfriend. He is a friend. We met at RADA a couple of years ago and he has showed me around university,” she said.
George Craig (2010)
Emma Watson and George Craig, a model, met in 2010 while shooting a campaign for Burberry. In July of that year, Watson starred in the music video for Craig’s band One Night Only’s song, “Say You Don’t Want It.” In an interview with Radio One at the time, Watson gushed over her rumored beau’s music. “When I was in the States, George was taking me through a lot of his music as he was recording it,” she said. “I couldn’t believe [how good the music was]. I’m a big fan. Everything he did was amazing.”
Watson and Craig split in September 2010 after less than a year of dating. According to a source for Marie Claire U.K., Watson and Craig ended their relationship due to the long distance between them. At the time, Watson was a student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, while Craig lived in London. “Emma and George made plans to try to make things work long distance, but it was not feasible. Emma knows this, but there have been tears,” the source said.
Craig also confirmed their breakup at the time, citing long distance as the reason for their split. “We’re into the same music and she’s got a great, down-to-earth personality. She’s also very beautiful,” he said, according to Marie Claire U.K. “We’re not together at the moment because it’s just not practical.” Craig also joked that he was back on the market. “I’m no-strings attached, but I’m not, you know, a slut,” he said.
Johnny Simmons (2011)
Emma Watson and Johnny Simmons, her co-star in 2012’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, dated for a few months in 2011. (Watson played Samantha “Sam” Button in the movie, while Simmons played Brad.) Watson and Simmons were first linked in August 2011 when they were photographed kissing on a hike in Los Angeles. “[They were] holding and hugging each other for a while and playfully kissing,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “[They] seemed very open and not trying to hide their affection.”
Prince Harry (2015)
There were rumors that Emma Watson and Prince Harry dated in 2015 before his relationship with his now-wife, Meghan Markle. Australian magazine Woman’s Day reported at the time that Watson and Harry had been going on secret dates. A source close to the British royal family, however, denied the rumors to Us Weekly at the time, claiming Watson and Harry were just friends. “[It’s] fake,” the insider said. “It’s such a random story.” The source continued, “I can see the Internet is going mad for this one.”
Chord Overstreet (2018)
One of Emma Watson’s most public relationships has been with Glee alum Chord Overstreet. News broke of their relationship in March 2018. “They’ve been dating for longer than people think. About two months,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “All of Chord’s friends have known, but he doesn’t talk openly about her.” A second insider added,“They are definitely hanging out and hooking up.” The couple split in May 2018 before reuniting a month later. “Chord is intrigued by Emma,” a source told Us Weekly. “Chord historically hasn’t dated someone like Emma. This is a huge and positive change for him.”
Leo Robinton (2019 – Present)
Emma Watson’s current boyfriend is business owner Leo Robinton. The two were first linked in October 2019 when they were photographed kissing in London. According to The Sun, Robinton, who deleted his social media after his relationship with Watson went public, is a Los Angeles-based businessman who used to work in the cannabis industry. “Emma and Leo did everything in their power to keep their relationship private,” a source told The Daily Mail in April 2020. “Emma introduced Leo to her parents; she was really serious about him. They went for a meal together back in December at The Ivy restaurant in St John’s Wood not long after Emma and Leo first met.”
In February 2021, another source told The Daily Mail that Watson had taken a break from acting to focus on her relationship with Robinton. “Emma has gone underground; she is settling down with Leo,” that source claimed. “They’re laying low. Maybe she wants a family,” the insider said. According to the newspaper, Watson and Robinton live together in Los Angeles.
Four months later, in June 2021, a source told Us Weekly that Watson and Robinton are “all in” on a future together, but they’re not in a “rush” to get engaged. “Emma is all in and has her heart set on a long-term future, but she doesn’t want to rush an engagement,” the insider said. “She was a little annoyed when people started gossiping about an engagement being in the works, but that was really just a privacy thing. Her and Leo’s friends do fully expect them to make things official at some point in the future, but they’re happy with how things are for right now. The main thing for them is having love and trust for one another, and it doesn’t take a ring or piece of paper for Emma to be happy.” The source continued, “Emma is so loved up with Leo and this is the happiest anyone’s seen her in a relationship by a million miles. They’re so connected in every way and spend all their spare time together.”
In May 2021, Watson denied in a series of tweets that she was engaged or retired from acting. “Dear Fans, Rumours about whether I’m engaged or not, or whether my career is ‘dormant or not’ are ways to create clicks each time they are revealed to be true or untrue,” she tweeted. “If I have news – I promise I’ll share it with you…In the mean time please assume no news from me just means I’m quietly spending the pandemic the way most people are – failing to make sourdough bread (!), caring for my loved ones and doing my best not to spread a virus that is still affecting so many people.” She continued, “I am sending so much love to you, hoping you’re ok and as well and happy as you can be in these strange times. And again, thank you to everyone working so hard to keep us safe and well.”
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