Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 2012.Anita Bugge/WireImage
- Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's relationship was a mainstay in the 2010s celebrity news cycle.
- The "Twilight" costars dated on and off from about 2009 to 2013.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's relationship was a defining moment for early 2010s celebrity culture. The two first met in 2007 while auditioning to play the leads Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in the "Twilight" movies. After years of 'shipping the two actors together, many diehard fans were thrilled when Stewart finally confirmed they were dating in real life as well.
While Stewart and Pattinson seemed inseparable, the two eventually broke up after Stewart was photographed kissing director Rupert Sanders, who she worked with on "Snow White and the Huntsman." She and Pattinson briefly rekindled their romance after the cheating scandal, but split for good in 2013.
Stewart didn't share many details about her relationship with Pattinson at the time they were dating, but she has been vocal in her criticism of the incessant tabloid coverage and speculation about their romance.
Here's everything Stewart has said about her relationship with her "Twilight" costar.
Stewart first publicly confirmed her relationship with Pattinson in a 2011 interview.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in 2010. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Although Stewart and Pattinson's romance appeared to begin in 2009, both stars kept details about their relationship under wraps for as long as they could — though an "Eclipse" producer talked about the costars' real-life relationship during a 2010 interview with Time.
But in a 2011 interview with British GQ, Stewart finally confirmed what most "Twilight" fans already knew: She and Pattinson were a couple.
"My boyfriend is English," Stewart revealed in the interview, though she didn't use Pattinson's name at the time.
While Stewart told GQ she didn't realize she was making an on-the-record statement with that comment about her boyfriend, she said later in the interview that her relationship status was pretty clear.
"So much of my life is so easily Googled. I mean, it's like, 'Come on, guys! It's so obvious!' I don't think you realize what a big deal it is for people," Stewart explained.
The "Panic Room" star also emphasized that she preferred to keep her relationship out of the spotlight.
"It's just one of those things. I'm selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine remaining that way," Steward said at the time. "It's a funny little game to play, and it's a slippery slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away, because there's never any point or benefit for me."
Amid the backlash from her cheating scandal, Stewart publicly expressed her love for Pattinson in 2012.
Pattinson and Stewart. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Sanders was 41 and married with two children when he was photographed kissing then-22-year-old Stewart, who he'd directed in "Snow White and the Huntsman," in July 2012.
The uproar over the photos was so extreme that both Stewart and Sanders issued public apologies for their behavior.
In her apology, Stewart was candid and remorseful.
"I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry," she wrote in a statement obtained by People.
The costars briefly tried to rekindle their romance following the scandal but broke up for good in 2013.
In a 2015 interview, Stewart said the cheating scandal, breakup, and intense media scrutiny turned her "feral."
Kristen Stewart. Amy Sussman/Getty
The "Spencer" star didn't get into specifics, but told Marie Claire at the time that she was taking a more rebellious approach to her work and personal life.
"I lit my universe on fire, and I watched it burn," Stewart said of her newfound attitude post-breakup. She conceded, however, that the intense backlash was difficult to deal with.
"Speaking very candidly, it was a really traumatic period in my early 20s that kick-started something in me that was a bit more feral," the star said.
Stewart reflected on the breakup in another 2015 interview, calling it "incredibly painful."
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in 2011. Steve Granitz/WireImage
"It was incredibly painful. Ugh, fucking kill me," the star said when asked about her breakup two years later by the Daily Beast. "Relationships. You just never fucking know," she added.
According to Stewart, she used the pain of her breakup to help her prepare while filming her 2015 movie "Equals," with Nicholas Hoult — who was fresh off of his own high-profile breakup with Jennifer Lawrence at the time.
Stewart continued to reflect on the relentless attention paid to her and Pattinson's relationship, saying it was "gross" in a 2016 interview.
Stewart and Pattinson. Christopher Polk/Getty Images
"People wanted me and Rob to be together so badly that our relationship was made into a product. It wasn't real life anymore. And that was gross to me," Stewart told the New York Times.
She went on to emphasize that she has nothing to hide in her personal life.
"It's not that I want to hide who I am or hide anything I'm doing in my life," Stewart explained. "It's that I don't want to become a part of a story for entertainment value."
In 2019, Stewart said she and Pattinson didn't have any role models for their relationship.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in 2011. Dave M. Benett/Getty Images
Stewart weighed in on the intense scrutiny paid to her relationship with Pattinson and their behavior at public events in an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2019.
"When me and Rob were together, we did not have an example to go by. So much was taken from us that, in trying to control one aspect, we were just like, 'No, we will never talk about it. Never. Because it's ours,'" the star recalled.
In another 2019 interview, Stewart said there was "nothing" she could do about falling in love with Pattinson.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in "Twilight." Summit Entertainment
Stewart got candid about her relationship with Pattinson in a late 2019 interview with Howard Stern. When reflecting on her time filming the "Twilight" movies, the radio host told Stewart that he thought falling in love on set is "the biggest mistake an actor can make."
"There was nothing I could do," the "Personal Shopper" star replied with a laugh.
Stewart went on to talk about the media attention on her and Pattinson and said it was "weird'" to be honest about the relationship now.
"I have this fear that people would assume that maybe I'm, like, you know — it's kind of attention-y, like, 'Oh, cool, you're still, like, pushing that narrative' or whatever," Stewart told Stern. "It's like, no, I've actually never been allowed to just say what happened. Because I was so self-conscious about seeming like an attention-seeker."
Stewart went on to shut down the popular theory that she and Pattinson were only together as part of a publicity stunt.
"We were together for years," she said, calling Pattinson her "first" love.
"Yeah, I mean, like, I was super in love with my high-school boyfriend. Super, super fucking in love with him," Stewart continued. "But me and Rob were, like, a little older, and it was just like, 'gu-gung.'"
Even though the two had been broken up for several years at the time of the interview, Stewart still agreed with Stern when the radio host called Pattinson a "charming guy."
Over ten years after they first started dating, Stewart recalled swooning after kissing Pattinson for the first time.
Summit Entertainment / Lionsgate
During an interview with the New Yorker in 2021, Stewart said she literally swooned when she kissed Pattinson during "Twilight" auditions.
Numerous actors hoping to be cast as Edward participated in a chemistry read with Stewart (who'd already been chosen to play Bella) at director Catherine Hardwicke's house.
And when she asked by the New Yorker about Pattinson's audition, Stewart mimicked a swoon: "I was literally just, like ..."
The two also bonded over their approach to playing Edward and Bella.
"[Pattinson had an] intellectual approach that was combined with 'I don't give a fuck about this, but I'm going to make this sing.' And I was, like, 'Ugh, same,'" Stewart said in the interview.
She added: "And, whatever, we were young and stupid and, not to say that we made it so much better, but that's what it needed, and that's what anybody playing those parts needed to feel."