Private vs Public Relationship

Where do you draw the line?

The more public your relationship is, the more people are interested in knowing more about your dynamic and the moments you share, but where do you draw the line?

I am aware that people should be able to share a photo, walk outside, or even share a story about their relationship without people wanting to know the end and out of their relationship. Many influencers build content around their relationship or the lifestyle their relationship provides. For instance, people who date athletes. There are so many wives and girlfriends who have become known because of their content associated with their relationships, but should they feel obligated to share if things are good or bad in their relationship? I have seen content creators randomly change their content that was once heavy on their relationship to never talk about their relationship again. Do you think at that moment they deserve privacy, or should they be transparent?

Musicians write love songs about their relationships, but do they have to share the meaning or story behind the songs? Do they have an obligation to the audience to share an update? Or should we just accept what they are sharing without asking anything else, especially when it comes to the arts? I have seen interviewers dive more into the meaning of songs with artists and try to understand the perspective of the art, but should an artist reject questions around this?

In women’s sports, athletes are known to have romantic relationships with their teammates, but where is the line drawn with reporters asking team dynamic questions? I saw this recently in a press conference for Azzi Fudd, who was the first draft pick in this year’s WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings. Azzi Fudd has publicly shared that she was in a relationship with Dallas Wings player, Paige Bueckers. The reporter asked Azzi if she was still in a relationship with Paige and if they were not, what is that dynamic like now? The Dallas Wings PR team shut down this question and many fans believe this question shouldn’t be asked due to privacy. My question is when is it a curious question about team dynamic vs an invasion of privacy? Because whether you like it or not, players dating each other can positively and negatively affect team dynamics. A lot of other people consider this a question rooted in sexism because a reporter would never ask a male player these questions, but is that true?

Men get asked questions all the time in the press conference about their relationship, Bam Adebayo gets questions about A’ja Wilson, Rory McIlroy had articles written about his divorce to his wife, which he later dismissed those files, and people ask Ronaldo when he plans on marrying his longtime girlfriend, now fiancée. Do these questions impact the dynamic of their team? No, but they are asked. Players are also asked about their friendships with other players and whether they get along off the court, but should those questions be asked or is it an invasion of privacy?

One celebrity couple that has taken privacy seriously is Zendaya and Tom Holland. Speculation grew about their relationship when both actors starred in the new Spider-man movies. Fans have now wondered when they started dating. They have inspected every video or photo on the internet and reporters have asked questions about their relationship, but the couple has kept mute about their dynamic. They may post a birthday post here or get spotted out at lunch in London, but we never get more than that. Zendaya recently spoke about the importance of privacy when it came to her relationship with the New York Times. She understands that people want to know more, but she and Tom care about having things for themselves. I guess the question is, when is it okay to ask if their relationship has an effect on the movie they are producing without being invasive?

Another relationship that comes to mind is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Meghan faced a ton of hateful press from the media and the couple decided to have a more private life instead of a public one. To be honest, I never saw an issue with this. People criticize them heavily for still being public figures because they decided not to share every moment of their life publicly. I understand the dynamic of wanting to be private while creating public-facing art or having appearances at charity events, but apparently, the press does not.

The same question is raised with reality TV stars, when can they draw the line at publicly sharing their relationship or keeping things private? Do they even have the right to do so? A current situation I think about is Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula from Summer House. There are conversations around when they separated, and when did Amanda start having a relationship with cast member, West Wilson? Watching the show back, many fans believe that Kyle and Amanda were already separated when they started filming. If that is so, I believe they need to be truthful about that. When you are on reality TV, it is hard to draw a line when it comes to privacy, because you have created storylines around certain topics. I have seen reality TV stars hide their relationships that fund their lifestyles, while shutting people down for talking about it on camera. The Bachelor and Bachelorette fall in love on camera, but should they have to continue to share their relationship after the cameras stop rolling? Rachel Lindsay recently went through a public divorce with her now ex-husband Bryan Abasolo from her season of The Bachelorette. Should she be obligated to share the ends and outs of her relationship up until the divorce? I do think she has been pretty open about it, but did she have to be?

I believe that each of these scenarios is vastly different, but I also question whether people still have the right to privacy once they are public about their relationships. Paige and Azzi 100% deserve privacy, but if their relationship positively or negatively impacts the team, I do believe that reporters should ask those questions. Many athletes are asked about private situations that may impact their performance, but I also believe the athlete can shut down those questions as well. I am not sure if they should be mad about the questions, but they can choose not to speak on topics. This is how Tom and Zendaya are when it comes to their relationship. You can ask the questions, but they will respectfully respond by telling you to mind your business. Musicians and writers can do the same exact thing, but they cannot be upset with the media or fans when they start to draw their own conclusions due to the lack of transparency.

I do believe that people should have the right to have a public image or create public art without feeling like they have to forgo a private life. WAGS shouldn't have to disclose every part of their dynamic with their significant other to create content, but if you break up with your partner, I do think you should share that. You do not have to share the reason, but because you have created content or used their status to elevate yourself (which isn’t a bad thing), I do think it does work best to be transparent in some ways. Most people will respect your privacy and move on, but, of course, there will always be those who do not know when to let go. They truly probably do not support you anyway.

What are your thoughts?