Searching for clues! Harry Styles is back with a new album — and fans can’t help scrutinizing the lyrics for hints about his relationship with Olivia Wilde.
The Grammy winner, 28, and the Booksmart director, 38, were first linked in January 2021 after they were photographed holding hands at Styles’ manager’s wedding. The duo have stayed tight-lipped about their romance since then, but some of the lines on Harry’s House imply that the twosome are very happy together.
“I don’t think I could have made this album if I wasn’t in a place that made me feel like I was allowed to,” the “Watermelon Sugar” singer said during an interview with SiriusXM Hits 1 on Friday, May 20, on the album’s release day. “And I think that is very much down to both my friends and the environment that I feel like the fans have created for me to be able to go out and make what I wanna make.”
At first glance, one track on the LP — “Love of My Life” — seems like it could be about a romantic partner, but Styles clarified during an interview with Zane Lowe that it’s an allusion to his home country of England. “Baby, you were the love of my life / Whoa, maybe you don’t know it’s lost till you find it,” he sings in the chorus. “It’s not what I wantеd, to leave you behind / Don’t know whеre you’ll land when you fly.”
The former One Direction member has been splitting his time between his native U.K. and the U.S., though he’s also been out on the road touring and filming movies. He’s set to kick off the European leg of Love on Tour next month, followed by North American, South American and Australian legs that don’t wrap up till March 2023.
It sounds like a grueling schedule, but the Dunkirk star loves it. “The crowd is so emotionally generous that they just want me to be having a good time, and I can feel that,” he said during a Monday, May 16, interview with Apple Music. “Doing shows is my favorite thing to do in the world. And it’s really easy to be like, ‘When it stops being fun, I’ll stop doing it.'”
He’s also got his burgeoning acting career to keep him busy, with his next movie, Don’t Worry Darling, due out in September. The film, directed by Wilde, also stars Florence Pugh and Chris Pine.
During his Harry’s House press tour, Styles made a rare comment about Wilde, telling Howard Stern how much he enjoyed making Don’t Worry Darling with her. “I had a wonderful experience being directed by Olivia,” he said on Wednesday, May 18. “Acting is kind of uncomfortable at times. You have to trust a lot. Being able to trust your director is a gift, that was very helpful.”
Us Weekly confirmed in November 2022 that Styles and Wilde had split after less than two years of dating.
Keep scrolling for a complete list of Harry’s House tracks that seemingly nod to Wilde.