Robert Pattinson introduced Rita Ora to Taika Waititi at a barbecue, kicking off their relationship

• Robert Pattinson brought singer Rita Ora to a barbecue at director Taika Waititi's house.
• Their romantic connection grew out of a long-term friendship.

Singer Rita Ora and filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi have Robert Pattinson to thank for their love. Waititi, 47, revealed in an interview with Louis Theroux that the "Batman" actor introduced Ora, 32, to him at a barbecue at Waititi's home.

"Everyone thinks we met in Australia last year. You know who brought her to my house? It was Rob Pattinson. He brought her over," "Thor: Love and Thunder" filmmaker told Theroux, according to the Daily Mail.

The director and singer liked one another immediately. "We just got chatting, we hit it off," said Waititi. They did not begin dating right away, however. The future couple first developed a friendship.

"For the next three-and-a-half years, we were just good mates," explained Waititi.

Ora and Waititi bonded over shared life experiences as their romance blossomed. "We come from different parts of the world, she's from Kosovo and I'm from New Zealand, they're very far away but our backgrounds were quite similar," the "Our Flag Means Death" actor explained.

"We both grew up poor in working-class families, her dad owned pubs and she hung out in pubs a lot when she was a kid and my mum worked in pubs and a lot of my family enjoy being in pubs so I was in pubs a lot as kids."

Ora, who previously dated Rob Kardashian and Calvin Harris, shared resentments about the media's focus on her love life. "

"Men don't get asked, ''Oh, you've had 100 boyfriends or girlfriends,'" said Ora. "Sometimes they do, but the majority of the time they don't. It comes with the territory, it's part of the world that you're in."

She also clarified that romantic relationships are not of the utmost importance in her life.

"I love love, I love being in love, it's amazing and so fun," she said. "'Who doesn't? I live life to the fullest. I'm an extremely passionate person when it comes to love, but I don't base my life on relationships."

The couple married in a "very small" ceremony in London in August, according to a source who spoke with People. Though they have not publicly confirmed any nuptials, the singer wore what appeared to be an engagement ring and wedding band on her left hand in an Architectural Digest video in November.