These Emma Watson Rumors Have Left Fans Devastated

Maybe you've heard. Charlotte Griffiths of the Daily Mail talked to Emma Watson's agent, and it seems that Emma Watson has, "gone dormant" — which is exactly what her official Instagram account says. If "gone dormant" sounds a lot to you like hibernating, you're probably close to the mark. To explain: Watson is in love with her boyfriend. According to Griffith's sources: "Emma has gone underground, she is settling down with Leo [Robinton]. They're laying low. Maybe she wants a family." Robinton and Watson have probably been seeing each other since late October 2019, although try as the Daily Mail might, details about their relationship are scarce. And while we don't know whether or not Robinton and Watson are engaged (Cosmopolitan wishes), a Daily Mail source says he's met her parents. 

Before you go throwing a temper tantrum, let's all take a breath and remember a few things. First, Watson has yet to confirm or deny the rumors. Second, last time we checked the dictionary, "gone dormant" doesn't mean, "done for good." Third, if it seems strange to you that an actress who has consistently defined herself as a feminist might be putting her career on hold for a man, maybe listen to what Watson has to say about it. As per Watson: "We want to empower women to do exactly what they want, to be true to themselves .... Women should feel free. There is no typical feminist, there is nothing anywhere that says you have to meet a certain [set of] criteria" (via Elle). Mic drop.

The Daily Mail reports that Emma Watson and her boyfriend just moved from Ibiza, Spain, to Los Angeles, where she's "not taking new commitments." The actress hasn't bothered to Tweet since August of 2020, which means she's likely missing the goodbye party that the social media platform is throwing for her. From all corners of the Twittersphere, Watson fans are calling for moments of silence. Mara Wilson, the actress who rocketed to fame after playing Matilda, Tweeted: "I wish we could always be this empathetic when people walk away from acting at young ages."

Other Twitter users aren't as forgiving, and have instead opted for very public breakdowns to the tune of "Emma Watson retiring is something very personal to me. No I will not be getting over this". One user even went all caps, Tweeting, "EMMA WATSON IS RETIRING WHAT DONT [sic] TALK TO ME PLEASE."

At least temporary retirement from acting doesn't necessarily mean that we'll stop hearing from the Little Women actress. For one, UN Women still lists Watson as a goodwill ambassador. And let's not forget that she's taken a break from acting before. Far from it. In 2013, she told Total Film that, after starring in Harry Potter, "I basically took two years out and stepped as far away from it as I could ... I took time to really try and figure out who I was and what I wanted to do. I even considered not being an actress" (via Marie Claire). Then, in 2016, Time reported that the child prodigy had paused her Hollywood career to "focus on feminism."

Twitter tears aside, it may be time to come to terms with reality. Celebrity Net Worth estimates that the Harry Potter alum is worth $80 million, meaning that Watson is unlikely to take on another role out of economic necessity. Besides, Watson doesn't particularly enjoy fame. As she told Vogue in 2019, red carpets never did much for her. "I've sat in therapy and felt really guilty about it. I'm like why me, somebody else would have enjoyed and wanted this aspect of it more than I did. And I've struggled a lot with the guilt around that. I'm like, I should be enjoying this a lot more, I should be more excited and I'm actually really struggling." In fact, "fame," per what her Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint told The Sunday Times, is "the one thing he, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe never talk about" (via Insider).

And it's easy to understand why Watson's tired of the spotlight: She's told us before. Being famous has turned her into a symbol. "Even people that are really close to me sometimes can't let it go. Or see just me. And then sometimes I have to go, 'No, no — I need exactly what you need. I'm just as human as you are. I'm just as insecure as you are. I struggle just as much as you struggle," she reflected to Vogue. Perhaps, then, it's high time we let Emma Watson become a person again.