Austin Butler breaks silence on Emily Ratajkowski romance rumors after dinner date

Austin Butler addressed those Emily Ratajkowski romance rumors after the two were photographed on a dinner date in New York City.

“The true answer is that I have a lot of friends, and we’re friends and we had dinner, and that we’re friends,” the actor, 34, told Vanity Fair on Tuesday, insisting that he is currently single.

Butler admitted that the public’s interest in his personal life once felt so stifling that he “just wanted to hide.” However, his perspective has changed.

“I’m going to live a constricted, small life because I’m afraid of what other people are going to say or what they’re going to think?” he asked rhetorically.

In early September, Butler and Ratajkowski, also 34, were snapped looking cozy while grabbing food and drinks at the Waverly Inn in the West Village.

An eyewitness told Page Six at the time that the “Elvis” star had his arm “around her” and “kept nodding at what she said.”

According to our insider, the pair made no attempts to stay hidden, as they “were in a big half booth in the center of the restaurant for everyone to see.”

While Deuxmoi reported that the duo was “very giggly and cute” during the outing, a source told TMZ that they didn’t show much PDA while they chatted for about two hours.

The “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” star and the brunette beauty were first linked in August when they were seen at the afterparty for the NYC premiere of his movie “Caught Stealing.”

Interestingly, Butler was also rumored to be dating his “Caught Stealing” co-star Zoë Kravitz. While the Daily Mail previously claimed their rapport was “not quite a fully fledged romance,” TMZ later reported that the colleagues were just pals.

Butler’s last public relationship was with model Kaia Gerber; the former couple broke up in January after three years of dating.

Meanwhile, Ratajkowski — who shares 4-year-old son Sylvester with her ex-husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard — was last linked to musician Shaboozey in August 2024.