Emma Thompson Says "Romantic Love Is a Myth"

A scorching-hot take from Dame Emma.

Rom-com royal Emma Thompson (and actual, real-life dame) is well-versed in the world of love, but in a new interview, she insists that all the things that we see in movies are "quite dangerous" and that a happy ending isn't something anyone should really expect. Marie Claire reports that while she was promoting her latest movie, What's Love Got to Do With It?, Thompson mused on the fact that those romantic ideals may be fun to watch, but they're all a fantasy.

She would know, too, having starred in classics like Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility, Last Christmas, and Bridget Jones's Baby, just to name a few of her now-iconic romantic turns.

"It’s philosophically helpful and uplifting to remember that romantic love is a myth and quite dangerous," Thompson told Radio Times. "We really do have to take it with a massive pinch of salt. To think sensibly about love and the way it can grow is essential. Long-term relationships are hugely difficult and complicated! If anyone thinks that happy ever after has a place in our lives, forget it!"

Related:Emma Thompson Once Compared Ex-Boyfriend Hugh Laurie to a "Well-Hung Eel"

Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise, have been together for 20 years, so she is speaking from experience. She went on to give a few examples of how she and Wise make things work, like ensuring everyone has a chance to control what's on TV, literally.

"Neither of us has any kind of relationship with the remote," she said. "Both of us spend the entire time wandering around, clapping our hands to the carpet, going, 'Where’s the remote?' We’re both utterly pathetic."

Thompson isn't the only person revisiting rom-coms now that the genre is seeing a renaissance. Julia Roberts, who came back to the beloved genre with Ticket to Paradise, said that she loves romantic comedies, but that good ones are few and far between. Josh Duhamel, '00s heartthrob, joined fellow royal of romance Jennifer Lopez for Shotgun Wedding, which brought the superstar back to the kinds of movies that made her famous, like The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan. Leading up to the release of the film, she spoke about how dangerous filming the slapstick elements of a rom-com can be.

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