Harry Styles credits ‘outgoing’ girlfriend for making him less afraid to go out in public

Published: 05:30 EDT, 10 October 2026 | Updated: 05:30 EDT, 10 October 2026

Harry Styles credited an ‘outgoing’ girlfriend for making him less afraid to go out in public while chatting with Radiohead star Thom Yorke for Rolling Stone magazine.

The singer, 32, has had a colourful love life ever since he was propelled into the spotlight at just 16 years old after finding worldwide fame with One Direction.

The star is now engaged to Zoe Kravitz after the pair were first spotted holding hands in August 2025.

Overcoming fear: Harry Styles has credited an ‘outgoing’ girlfriend for making him less afraid to go out in public in a new interview with Thom Yorke for Rolling Stone magazine

Harry and Zoe are often spotted out and about strolling around London and New York and now the singer has revealed how he gained the confidence to do so through one of his former girlfriends.

Thom told Harry: ‘I was also impressed that you were just walking down the street. I was like, “Where’s his security?” Because I mean, I know I can do it, but I didn’t know you could do it. Is that a choice?’

Harry explained: ‘I think in the early days, when I was in the band, so much of the hotel experience felt very locked-in. When I’d be home, it felt like, “Oh, it’s not safe for me to be out.”

Coping with fame: Harry became an overnight star at just 16 years old with One Direction

Harry continued:’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.”

‘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.’

Harry could have been alluding to his past relationship with Taylor Swift, who he dated around the height of One Direction’s success in 2012 – at the time she was 22 and he was 18.

He added: ‘I read something about walking being the artist’s kind of perspective, because you’re at ground level and you see things that you just don’t see if you’re driving everywhere.’

Cover star: Harry and Thom feature on the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone edition

As well as walking around London Harry is also frequently spotted out on a run or traveling on a Lime bike.

Last year he stunned fans when he popped up on the streets of Tokyo, taking part in the city marathon.

Despite being one of the most famous faces in the world, he insisted that being in constant motion meant fans often didn’t get the chance to recognise him.

Protected: Harry explained how in his early days of fame he believed it was not safe for him to be outside due to him being regularly confined to hotel rooms

Harry told Runner’s World in March: ‘Well, the main thing is that you’re always moving. You can turn a corner wherever.

‘I think with people who see me, it’s a bit more “Was that…?” rather than, “Oh look it’s him!” And by that time, you’re already gone.’

The interview comes after Harry said he had to have a ‘real, honest conversation’ with himself as to where he saw himself in five years after three of his closest friends got married.

He discussed the ‘loneliness’ of fame and how he took a three-year hiatus from music to establish what he really wants from his life.

New things: However, a girlfriend who visited Harry in London convinced him that it was ok for the pair to walk around in public

In a new interview on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show Harry explained why he took a break from music after his mammoth Love On Tour in 2023, which saw him do 169 shows over a two-year period.

He said: ‘I stop everything, then I get to decide what I want to bring back in. Like what are really the things that I want in my life?

‘If you’re like touring all the time and you’re doing this all the time and all these things, there’s no space to really choose.’

Potential teacher? Harry could have been alluding to his relationship with Taylor Swift, who he dated at around the height of One Direction’s success in 2012

Family life: Harry is now engaged to Zoe Kravitz after the pair were first spotted holding hands in August 2025

Harry continued: ‘I think I had a real honest conversation with myself about, okay, in five years, what do I want my life to look like?

‘And then how do I make changes to aim at that? I don’t want to be the guy who’s on his own but was like, oh, I really did it.

‘I want to be fulfilled and I want to be in great relationships with people. I want to have great friendships with people. I want a family.

‘I want these things. It just allowed me to go like, okay, what do I have to do to create space to allow these things to happen? I can’t just expect them to just happen to me.’