Austin Butler Clarifies Emily Ratajkowski Friendship Amid Dating Rumors
Indeed, Austin Butler is well aware of the circulating reports connecting him romantically to Emily Ratajkowski — and he's quite willing to discuss them.
“To be absolutely clear, I have many acquaintances, and we are simply friends who shared a meal; nothing more than friendship defines our connection,” stated Butler, 34, regarding his association with Ratajkowski, also 34, during a conversation featured in Vanity Fair, released on Tuesday, November 18.
Speculation about a potential romance between Butler and Ratajkowski gained traction after they were seen dining together in New York City back in September.
Images disseminated by DeuxMoi then revealed the duo seated closely in a booth at the intimate Waverly Inn eatery.
Initially, Butler found the intense scrutiny on his personal affairs overwhelming — “My instinct was to retreat,” he admitted — though his perspective on this has since evolved.
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“Am I truly going to lead a confined existence, limiting myself out of fear of public opinion or perception?” he pondered aloud.
Although the exact nature of their initial acquaintance remains unknown, both have a shared history in acting — Butler featured in a 2007 installment of iCarly, with Ratajkowski making an appearance on the show two years subsequent.
“I participated in approximately three episodes,” Ratajkowski reminisced about her part during an Elle UK discussion published in August. “Those experiences were quite enjoyable. Appearing on Nickelodeon was quite an extraordinary moment. I suppose it marked my introductory major role.”
She added, “It proved to be an unusual time spent alongside numerous well-known child performers. … As I was attending a public high school, encountering peers who had been raised within the studio environment was a genuinely novel encounter.”
Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber's Romantic Journey: A Retrospective
Butler's last publicized romantic connection was with Kaia Gerber, but the couple ended their three-year relationship this past January.
The former couple were initially associated in December 2021, when Butler and Gerber, currently 24, were observed participating in a yoga session together.
Us Weekly verified then that the pair were engaged in a “discreet romance” following Butler's separation from Vanessa Hudgens and Gerber's split from Jacob Elordi, in that order.
(Butler had been in a nine-year relationship with Hudgens prior to their separation in 2020.)
Ratajkowski, on the other hand, has been involved in several prominent relationships, such as those with Brad Pitt, Pete Davidson, and others, subsequent to her 2022 divorce from husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.
(Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard's marriage lasted four years before they formally ended it.)
“I can confirm I had never experienced being unattached previously,” she shared with Harper’s Bazaar during that period. “I am experiencing a full spectrum of feelings. There's anger, melancholy. There's thrill. There's happiness. There's lightness. Each day presents new sentiments. The sole positive aspect I discern is that I am indeed feeling these emotions, which is reassuring, as it instills confidence that I will recover.”
Maintaining Discretion! Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber's Intimate Evening Out
Pondering her personal affairs, Ratajkowski disclosed that she has adopted a refreshed strategy for identifying a suitable partner.
“To borrow a contemporary social media term, I somewhat embodied a ‘pick-me girl’ mentality, in that I struggled to ascertain my own preferences,” she explained. “My strong desire was to be selected. It proved challenging for me to engage in a date without fixating on my desirability to them. My focus would have been entirely on their perception of me, the implications, their expectations, and what that signified for my intrinsic value.”
She further elaborated, “That mindset no longer defines me. Consequently, dining with someone now provides genuine enjoyment, allowing me to consider, ‘Excellent. I genuinely appreciated these aspects of their personality. These other characteristics, however, were less appealing.’”
