‘Harry Potter’s’ Emma Watson Gives Single Life A New Name: ‘I Call It Being Self-Partnered’

Emma Watson is giving the single life a new name. The Harry Potter actress opened up to British Vogue about the pressures of turning 30 in the entertainment industry, and she told the magazine that instead of calling herself single, she thinks of herself as “self-partnered.”

Watson shot to fame as Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter films, but these days, she is returning to the screen to play Margaret “Meg” March in Greta Gerwig’s production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. While her career is hotter than ever, the actress says that she is feeling a lot of pressure to have a certain life as she approaches her 30th birthday in April.

She told the magazine that in the past, she didn’t see the milestone as such a big deal, but as it approaches, she has realized that there is a lot of expectation placed on people to be a certain place. The process of getting older has been “tough” because her life doesn’t look like what she – and others – expected.

“[T]here is suddenly this bloody influx of subliminal messaging around. 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,” she said.

But when it comes to dating, she has found a balanced perspective.

“I never believed the whole ‘I’m happy single’ spiel,” she continued. “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.”

Watson said that playing Meg feels like a good fit for her. Recently, Watson has been involved in activism around sustainability in fashion, reproductive rights, and feminist issues. So, she says, exploring Meg, who makes the choice to marry because it’s what she wants, felt like a nod to feminism.

Beyond playing the classic role, Watson says that she was excited to act alongside her fellow activists, Meryl Streep and Laura Dern. The three knew each other long before they made the film together, thanks to their roles in various causes, so she felt a kinship with her co-stars.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Watson stepped into the role of Meg after Emma Stone couldn’t find the time amongst her other projects for the role.