Emma Watson has a new love in her life, and she met him at school. The former Harry Potter star, who has been studying creative writing in the U.K., was photographed kissing fellow student Kieran Brown in Jericho, Oxford, on July 1, 2024, per E! and Us Weekly.
Watson has spent this year largely out of the spotlight. In December 2023, the actress spoke about her decision to go back to school for a M.A. program to British Vogue. “Because I’m in a career that moves very quickly, the decision to take time to do these things felt like a very big decision,” she said. “[Choosing] to go back and write and study and get behind the camera was terrifying for me because I’d never done it before. I had always been in front of the camera; I’d always been an actor.”
The star has withdrawn in general from public appearances, but was seen solo on Valentine’s Day 2025 at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Oakland, California. A video of the Harry Potter actress was shared by ESPN on TikTok showing her waving to the crowd and greeting friends.
Watson was last romantically linked to Brandon Green, the son of fashion entrepreneur Sir Philip Green. News of their relationship broke in August 2022, and reports of their breakup surfaced in May 2023.
Not much is known about Brown, who is not a celebrity, but a little has come out about him and his connection to Watson. Here, what to know about him and their relationship.
Watson met Brown, a PhD student, while studying in England.
The Sun reported that Brown is pursuing a PhD in 19th century literature and economics at the same U.K. university where Watson is doing her master’s degree. A source claimed to the outlet, “Emma is studying creative writing, and his thesis is all about literary theory—so they have a lot to talk about. She looks so loved up with Kieran.”
The couple was photographed on two dates in July 2024.
Brown and Watson first sparked dating rumors when photos of them kissing came out in early July. Both Brown and Watson wore light blue tops.
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They were photographed again on a date at a Gail’s Bakery location close to their school on July 5. Watson was in a tan sweater and brown scarf, and Brown wore glasses and a gray button-up.
An eyewitness told Daily Mail of that outing, “They were chatting together in the queue, they seemed to have quite a nice vibe.”
It’s unclear when the couple started dating and will likely remain so as Watson has kept her love life generally private.
Watson spoke about how she views being single in December 2023.
Watson hasn’t ever really talked about her boyfriends in interviews. But she has, from time to time, discussed her views on dating.
Most recently, Watson revisited her famous 2019 “self-partnered” remark during her December 2023 interview with British Vogue. She told the magazine that the comment was not “necessarily about me celebrating being single. Getting to the point when I was 30, I was realizing, ‘Oh, maybe I’ve figured out some things about how to care for myself better—maybe quite well, actually.’ And taking pride in that.”
While she didn’t address her love life beyond that, she did speak about how much she values her relationships with her tight-knit friends and family, saying, “Coming out of COVID, I really understood the importance of building community, having community and investing, very intentionally, time and energy into that.”
In her December 2019 British Vogue interview, Watson offered a little more on her dating outlook, saying, “Dating apps are not on the cards for me. I’m very lucky in the sense that because I went to university and because I’ve done these other things outside of film, my friends are really good at setting me up. Really good. And what’s really nice is some of my best friends are people I got set up on a date with and it didn’t work out.”
“I didn’t think it was possible,” Watson continued. “And it really is possible. And it’s actually great.”
