Harry Styles credits 'outgoing' girlfriend for easing his anxiety about fame

Harry Styles felt unsafe stepping out during his One Direction fame for a long time, until one relationship changed his entire outlook.

The Grammy-winning singer opened up about the unnamed girlfriend during a conversation with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke for Rolling Stone’s cover story published Thursday, October 8, where the musicians recalled crossing paths while walking around Rome.

When Yorke admitted he was surprised to see Styles out without security, Styles explained that wasn’t always the case.

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“I think in the early days, when I was in [One Direction], so much of the hotel experience felt very locked in,” he recalled. “It felt like, ‘Oh, it’s not safe for me to be out.’”

That mindset shifted after Styles began dating someone who enjoyed being out and about.

“Then I had a girlfriend who was very outgoing, and she was coming to London and I was like, ‘Oh, if we just sit in my house for three days, she’s gonna think I’m nuts,'” he revealed. “So we walked everywhere, and it was this realisation for me: ‘Oh, it’s fine to be outside.’ It kind of broke that thing. Now, it’s changed my life in such a big way, because it’s how you stay connected to the world.”

Styles did not identify the girlfriend. It remains unclear whether he was referring to an ex or Zoe Kravitz, who is reportedly his fiancée.

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