Relationships
Harry Styles' Quotes About Love Are Playful & Honest

by Caroline Colvin
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After listening to 2019's Fine Line or his 2017 eponymous album, you'd probably expect Harry Styles' quotes about love to be intense, passionate, or too cool for school. The way he sings about sex and romance has cemented his rock star status. He's got moody songs about regret like "From the Dining Table," and warm, sensual love songs like "Watermelon Sugar." He's also got rowdy bops, Exhibits A and B being the baby mama drama of "Kiwi" and the sweat-inducing way he croons "she's such a good girl" in "Carolina." But outside his music, how does Harry Styles really feel about love?

He's not the most forthcoming guy when it comes to his own love life. Sure, he's occasionally been snapped on what might be a date. But for the most part, Styles' relationship history remains mysterious. A quick refresher on the people Styles has been romantically linked to: the late Caroline Flack in 2011, Taylor Swift from 2012 to 2013, Kendall Jenner from 2015 to 2016, and Camille Rowe from 2017 to 2019. While Styles seldom opens up about specific relationships, he has spoken about what love means to him, dating while famous, and how it all factors into his work. Here are 10 Harry Styles quotes about love that will make you adore him.

01Dating While Famous? Difficult & Strange

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When asked about Swift in his 2016 Rolling Stone interview, Styles first deflected. “You can say, ‘He went for a pee and never came back," he joked. He did back-track and speak candidly about those paparazzi pics of him and Swift in Central Park blowing up, saying:

When I see photos from that day, I think: Relationships are hard, at any age. And adding in that you don’t really understand exactly how it works when you’re 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn’t make it easier. I mean, you’re a little bit awkward to begin with. You’re on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure.

I mean, imagine if someone had snapped pics of you when you were 18 years old and ready to puke from first-date nerves. All things considered, Styles handled it with grace.

02He'll Keep The "Private" Things Private

In the same interview, Styles responded to the possibility of Swift writing about their relationship just by complimenting her. He did, however, get honest about balancing using heartbreak as inspiration and respecting his exes' privacy. Styles said:

I write from my experiences; everyone does that. I’m lucky if everything [we went through] helped create those songs. That’s what hits your heart. That’s the stuff that’s hardest to say, and it’s the stuff I talk least about. That’s the part that’s about the two people. I’m never going to tell anybody everything.

03He'd Do *Anything* To Keep It On The DL

In 2019, Styles faced off against ex-girlfriend Jenner in a good-natured round of "Spill Your Guts," which The Late Late Show's version of truth or dare. Except, the dare is eating unconventional, gross parts of random animals.

When Jenner asked “Which songs on your last album were about me?”, Styles responded by eating the cod sperm. While he didn't technically say anything, he said everything. Trust that your secrets are safe with Styles, even when you break up.

04He'll Be The Cool & Creative Ex

The only song where Styles has all but confirmed a connection is "Cherry," which is reportedly about Rowe. In his November 2019 interview with on Apple Music's Beats 1, Styles said of the mysterious French voicemail clip in the song:

That was my ex-girlfriend. I don't know. I think it was because it got added in later on, and it felt so part of the song. It just felt like it needed it. We're friends and stuff, so I asked her if it was OK. And she was OK with it. I think she liked it.

Apart from turning your breakup into a heart-achingly beautiful song, Styles confirmed he's also the type of ex to check in and make sure things are cool between you two.

05He Sees Breakups In A Positive Light

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Another interesting tidbit Styles shared in his 2016 Rolling Stone story was how he views breakups and his songs about them:

I like tipping a hat to the time together. You’re celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than ‘this didn’t work out, and that’s bad.’ ... Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it’s the best sh*t ever. So thank you.

06He Used To Love Googling His Dates

You probably aren't going to write chart-topping songs about your meet-cutes or breakups (but hey, it could happen), but there's one area where you and Harry Styles will be the same: struggling with the temptation of Googling your date or lurking on their socials. In 2017, Styles told BBC Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw:

No, I used to [research dates], then I said I’m not going to do that anymore, it’s impossible to go in without a perception of someone and you’ve never met them and I started feeling like that was wrong and weird.

Even rock stars have to live and learn.

07Dating Hasn't Been His Forte Lately

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Something else noteworthy Styles said about love in his BBC Radio 1 interview is that he's been too busy to actually go on dates with people. Styles confessed:

I haven’t dated in a long time really because I went away to do the movie then did the album so I haven’t in a while. I have a couple of candles left still, though.

08He Wants To Get Married & Have Kids Someday

In February 2018, Chelsea Handler broached the topic of marriage came with Styles for his Another Man story. While he deflected at first — classic Styles at this point — he said he thinks he'll get married and have kids one day. When Handler pressed him about whether he's looking for the one right now, Styles said:

I can’t wait for a time when that’s a thing for me. I look forward to that in my life. For now, I feel like you enjoy experiences more when you go with people you really want to be with and really care about.

If this doesn't prove that Styles is ever the easy-going Aquarius, I don't know what does.

09Love Is Love

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While Styles has never publicly labeled his sexuality, he has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Some highlights include Styles saying gender wasn't an important criterion for a date back in 2014 — which shook the 1D fandom to its core — and occasionally including unreleased track "Medicine," a song about hooking up with men and women, in his set lists.

At a Stockholm, Sweden concert during his first solo album cycle, Styles made his stance clear beyond taking pride flags onstage, saying:

If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you. I love every single one of you.

10He'll Let The Songs Speak For Themselves

In 2019 Rolling Stone interview, Styles revealed why he'd rather keep his relationship on the DL, apart from the details being, as he once put it, "the stuff that’s hardest to say." He said:

It’s not like I’ve ever sat and done an interview and said, ‘So I was in a relationship, and this is what happened.' Because for me, music is where I let that cross over. It’s the only place, strangely, where it feels right to let that cross over.

Styles IRL take on love and romance is a bit unexpected, given the bravado and intensity of his songs. but even though he wants his songs to do all the talking for him, Styles' quotes about love are absolutely golden.