Pete Davidson—who has dated 12 people in 10 years, including megastars like Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande—doesn’t get why people care so much about his love life.
The SNL alum defended his extensive, tabloid-friendly dating history in a candid interview on the Real Ones With Jon Bernthal podcast on Thursday.
“I’m in my twenties and I’ve dated people. And for some reason, that’s very crazy and interesting to people. I don’t think it’s interesting,” the 29-year-old said, apparently ignorant to decades of the public’s curiosity about celebrities’ personal lives. “In 12 years I’ve dated 10 people. I don’t think that’s that crazy, but to some people, that’s very interesting. That became all anyone would talk about.”
Davidson added that it’s especially “confusing” to see people so invested in his relationships—including his current one with his Bodies Bodies Bodies co-star Chase Sui Wonders—because he’s no longer active on any social media platforms. (He did recently return to Instagram, but hasn’t posted anything and doesn’t follow anyone.)
“I’m not, like, flexing, you know what I mean? And these people that I’ve dated, I met them at work. I wasn’t in anyone’s DMs, no one was in mine. I worked at one of the five Hollywood epicenters of where you meet people and that’s how it happened,” he said.
“Suddenly you’re in this zeitgeist and that has nothing to do with the work. And that’s a really shitty feeling,” he added. “I became more known before the work was there, but I was always working.”
Indeed, Davidson’s file of exes has become total meme fodder over the years, especially since his whirlwind engagement to Ariana Grande in 2018, following his breakup from Cazzie David. After being linked to various actresses and models—including Margaret Qualley, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber, and Phoebe Dynevor—he started dating Kim Kardashian, for whom any kind of relationship is instant, global news. Since their split last August, he’s dated Emily Ratajkowski and, most recently, 26-year-old Wonders.
Despite all of that, however, Davidson is justifiably frustrated with people talking more about his girlfriends than, say, his work in genuinely good films like The King of Staten Island or Bodies Bodies Bodies. Also irritating, he says, is the way he was trolled for his love life on SNL before he left the sketch comedy series in 2022.
“You feel small, you feel super insecure. And I’m already a very insecure person, and now I’m insecure in the place I’m supposed to feel the most safe,” he said about being the butt of many SNL jokes. “Luckily, we squashed it, talked about it, and fixed that part of it. But it took me a while before I felt comfortable to even say that. It was fucking weird.”
