Emma Watson has said she prefers to call herself “self-partnered” rather than single as she approaches her 30th birthday.
Watson, 29, who rose to fame as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, coined the phrase in an interview with British Vogue in which she discussed the pressures of turning 30.
The actor and activist, whose birthday is in April, said she initially did not understand the “fuss” that surrounded the milestone.
More recently, however, she admitted feeling “stressed and anxious” about her upcoming birthday.
She told British Vogue: “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.”
Speaking of how she had never believed the “‘I’m happy single’ spiel,” she added: “It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered.”
The new phrase is reminiscent of actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s use of the term “conscious uncoupling” to describe her divorce proceedings from the Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2014.
Later this year, Watson will return to the screen playing Margaret “Meg” March in “Little Women” alongside Laura Dern and Meryl Streep – both of whom she knew previously through their activism.
The full interview will appear in the December issue of British Vogue and will be available from November 8.
